Jena CEEC AWZ – kit from LEGO® bricks

Description

Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry and Application Centre, Jena CEEC AWZ

This new building for the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena was designed and built by architectural firm Telluride Architektur with offices in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Munich. In the summer of 2023, as The Brick Translator, Ralf received the order to recreate the building from LEGO bricks in two versions: one at an approximate scale of 1:350, and one as a micro version.

The original building includes “specialised laboratories for research on new batteries, printed solar cells and an energy conversion façade,” according to the description from Telluride Architektur. The centre of the building is the so-called centre of gravity (COG), which is located between the two areas for theory (CEEC II) and practice (AWZ, Application Centre). The façades are aligned towards this area with the distinctive shape of the windows and their frames. The COG area, which serves as a meeting zone for the building’s users, also attracts the viewer’s attention, both from the outside and the inside.

Realising it in LEGO bricks was a big challenge, as it was important not to make the model too big yet also represent the key architectural elements. This resulted in the model shown, which, with around 1,900 bricks and a length of almost 30 centimetres, is one of the largest kits that Ralf has created to date.

The micro version was also created at the suggestion of Telluride architect and managing partner Hubert Juranek. Like many others, he grew up with LEGO and attributes his career as an architect to his involvement with LEGO bricks in his childhood and youth. Hubert had seen micro models by other designers and suggested one for this building. Despite its compactness, this also manages to reflect the key feature, namely the centre of gravity.

Both models are now available in our range. Hubert and his team at Telluride Architektur are happy to answer any questions you may have about the original, and if you are interested in a model of this type for your purposes, be it as an architect, a building owner or an architecture fan, please feel free to contact Ralf, The Brick Translator.

The four printed bricks contained in this kit were provided by our partner, the SuperBrickBrothers, from Wolfsburg.

Colour of the model: dark orange & white

Number of original LEGO® bricks: 1,909

Measurements of the model: 28.8 x 14.4 x 10.6 cm

Scale of the model: approx. 1:350

Difficulty level: expert