The Art of Castle Building: Designing the Emerald City from Wicked

Juan Rodriguez Lopez, a LEGO builder from Seattle, shares his design process for a custom LEGO model of the Emerald City from the film *Wicked*. He discusses the challenges and inspirations behind this ambitious project.

Lopez chose the Emerald City because he was disappointed with the official LEGO sets based on *Wicked* and was drawn to the city's green and gold color scheme. He wanted a challenge that would push his technical skills and creativity. The model's design involved coordinating a cluster of buildings and towers, balancing the scale of the Wizard's Palace with the rest of the city. The architecture is a mix of Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Baroque, and Arabic influences, requiring a high part count to capture the curves, flourishes, and gold filigree.

The Emerald City model is Lopez's largest and most detailed build, exceeding his previous self-imposed 1,500-piece limit. He emphasizes that the design dictates the final part count, and the finished city justifies the effort. Lopez conducted extensive research, using posters, promotional images, merchandise, models, and pausing the film to study every detail.

Building custom LEGO models like this can be a rewarding hobby. If you're inspired to create your own castle or city, you might find a LEGO storage organizer helpful for keeping your bricks sorted.