Library of Seoul National University (SNU)

Hello, I'm Uniquelego, a LEGO creator working in South Korea. It's an honor to introduce you to my work, "Library of Seoul National University (SNU)". 

This work consists of 1643 pieces, 36.8 wide, 16.8 long, and 18.4 studs high.

This work is modeled after a library at a particular university, but it's just a really beautiful building, and I have no intention of promoting or advertising a particular university. I never created this work to promote a particular region or organization. It doesn't include a message related to social reform. I was just impressed by the artistry of this building and referred to this building. In fact, this building has won many awards in the field of architecture with high authority in Korea (ex: Korea Architects Association Award), and even the website of Seoul National University, which designed using this building, is recognized for its nice design and won the iF design award. That's why I chose this building while looking for a representative building for university libraries around the world. Also, I have not inserted any labels to symbolize a particular school. I sincerely ask you to look at this work as a mere ornament. The only goal of this work is "to move an artistic but undervalued building onto our desks." Thank you.

1) Your model (what it is)?

My work is based on Seoul National University Central Library. As mentioned earlier, the only goal of this work was "to move an artistic but undervalued building onto our desks." To achieve this goal, we moved the structure, color, and scale of the actual building equally, but complied with the size within 20x40 studs that could be placed on the desk. In the case of the interior, the space is narrow, so the space and props that add to the artistry of this building are intensively reproduced. 

Library of Seoul National University consists of a Gwanjeong Building and the Main Building. The Main Building is a dark gray matchbox at the bottom of the work, and the glass building surrounding it is a Gwanjeong Building. The Gwanjeong Building was built in a unique form surrounding the main building in an 'ㄱ' shape of Hangeul. Also, the two buildings are connected to each other, so they can travel freely inside. Such a unique architectural structure is a way to make the most of the narrow land.

Let me now explain the internal elements of the library.

Main Building

Rooftop Garden - If you go up on a fine day, you can see 63 Building, N Seoul Tower, and Lotte World Tower!

Downstairs of Gwanjeong Building

Lobby - You can tag your student ID and go upstairs at the gate located here. There is a small exhibition room next to the gate, where exhibitions, events, and gatherings are held.

Sleeping Chairs - where people fall down and lie down like zombies during the exam period. It's a place where you can lie down and rest anytime.

Study Garden - you are free to conduct team meetings and take online classes here at any time! It's the only noisy place in a quiet library.

Upstairs of Gwanjeong Building

Laptop reading room - It is literally a place where you can study with a laptop, which is the most popular place for students due to its pleasant environment.

Private reading room - It is a nice single room only for Ph.D. students. However, I think that going to graduate school just to use that room is quite overspent. If you want to go to graduate school, be sure to think carefully.

Stairs - It is located in the middle of the building, so that it makes easy to get to and from anywhere.

Garden - This is the specialty of Gwanjeong Building. It was made with the base of abandoned trees, so you can feel the scent of nature. There is even a small fish living in the pond.

Phone booth - It's soundproof, but you can hear the conversation outside. However, it's still pretty, so it's worth looking at!

Interactive Kiosk - If you have reserved a seat in the reading room, you must go through certification in this kiosk to use the seat.

Reading Room - This is a reading room where you cannot use your laptop. Therefore, it's a good place to read a book quietly.

2) Why you built it?

The first and most important reason is that I wanted to create great decorations by moving artistic buildings to LEGO. Decorating one's own living space using props is called "Home Decor." So I wanted to make a work that can be easily used for home decoration. Home Decor is gaining popularity all over the world. Usually, home decor has used paintings, sculptures, crafts, or design elements, but recently, more and more LEGO products are used for home decoration, which have a similar level of beauty to existing interior products but can be placed on desks or cabinets. Moreover, decorations based on artistic buildings like this one would be more appropriate. That's why I made this piece in the size that I can put on the desk.

Second, because I wanted to make a work about the real life of a university student. The 'school library' is an indispensable factor in college student's daily life. There are many great buildings in the LEGO Modular series, but it's hard to find a product that realistically depicts the library. In particular, the buildings that appear in LEGO products are based on Western home-style buildings, but I was not satisfied because there were many differences between Eastern complexes and Western home-style buildings. So I made a work that captures the real life of a college student.

Third, I wanted to make a work that captures the story of ordinary people. Our daily lives are troublesome, but they are also the driving force behind our daily lives. So I wanted many students to get the strength to live tomorrow by watching this work. At the same time, I hope all non-students can get something from this building.

3) Why you believe it would make a great LEGO set?

First of all, this work actually moves beautiful buildings that boast high artistry onto their desks. So I tried to capture the realistic elements as much as possible within the size of the desk. The outside of the work is reproduced with gold decorative plates and sky blue glass that make up the actual building, and the inside is a garden, reading room, carols, sleeping chairs, and telephone booths. I expect this work to be reborn as a great LEGO set thanks to this sense of reality.

Next, this work is based on the theme of "undervalued architecture in modern Korea," which has not been easily found. Most of the works that have dealt with Korea have been based on traditional architecture or landmarks. They may have thought such a topic was the most Korean, but I think differently. Most college students spend much more time in the university library than in Gyeongbokgung Palace, the National Assembly building, and the 63 Building, which are often represented by Korean landmarks. The closure of the library has a greater impact on their daily lives than the immediate closure of Gyeongbokgung Palace. So I made the subject of a university library that is closely related to our daily lives but no one paid attention to. I hope that this work will be reborn as a great LEGO set thanks to the originality of this theme.

Finally, this work has elements of fine-grained description and moderate size together. Recently, many LEGO products aimed at AFOL are larger than 2000 pieces. These large products have strengths in detailed descriptions, but they cause a lack of space to assemble and display works. But it's been reborn as a work that has detailed descriptions and can be placed under the desk of the office, next to the front door, and under the TV. AFOL wants a complex piece that can satisfy both the need for fine-grained description and the right size. I hope that this complexity will make this work a great LEGO set.

Thank you for reading.