The build for the current season of The Lego Church Project is in the process of being started. Taking out all the bins, trays, and containers of various LEGO parts and other related elements. The first step in this massive work is figuring out how the church will look by plotting out the layout. This is the over all foot print of how the church will take shape.
I start this process by setting up a grid. This will give me the basic measurements that I will need before I start building. This entire process can take some time depending on what goals I have in mind. Though a lot of that also depends on what kind of story the Lord wants me to tell with the bricks. Once the grid is in place I can turn my attention to the rough design. A simple blocking out. Figuring out the walls will look and a rough placement of some the key elements that make a church. Most people would just see bricks in the form of basic shapes. However I am seeing things farther down the road. Such as how these shapes fit together in the form of the parish once everything is assembled.
This project is unique in that I do take this on the road. So it boils down to form vs function. While on one I would love to do something that is very creative and great. It may not hold up to the demands of travel. Something that I do have to take into consideration. A good layout addresses some of these concerns early on.
At this point in the process I take time to look into the Altar and Tabernacle. This is the main focal point of the church and the church is often built around it. This needs to have a nice flow so people can easily see what is going on. It can also be one of the more challenging elements to figure out early on. It is not uncommon for the design to be revised several times before it is truly "bricked in". This of course is a balancing act for me. Trying to do something new with what I've done in the past.
The very nature of The Lego Church Project means that some stuff, even with the basic layout, gets reused to some degree. I have a limited amount of space to work with and some shapes and forms just get recycled into the next build. This isn't as bad as it sounds. I could use the same layout several times an no Project would look the same.
The best way to see this is to compare my work to either the early Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest JRPG’s. Each game has it’s own story. But a lot of the basic game play remains the same in each one. The same thing can be seen with my work. A lot of basic ideas and items get reused. But it still is it’s own story.
Once the layout is roughly set. I can then start the hard process of building. Time to get to work. -JM
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