Check out what this Lego lover did to CBC headquarters
Canada 2017 | Posted: July 13, 2017 3:19 PM | Last Updated: July 13, 2017
Can you spot Peter Mansbrick?
Image | Julio and the CBC
Caption: "I love LEGO and I love the CBC, so it all fit together." Julio Preuss gives us a tour of his impressive homage to the CBC's Toronto headquarters. (Julio Preuss)
Don't tell Julio Preuss not to bring the office home.
For the past few months, the CBC employee and Lego aficionado has been building a massive replica of his workplace, the CBC's Toronto headquarters, for Canada Builds 150 — a collective project turning all kinds of Canadiana into Lego tributes for the sesquicentennial.
"I love Lego and I love the CBC, so it all fit together," says Preuss, who works as a product manager on CBC's Digital Operations Team.
Preuss's elaborate model — which he single-handedly built on his own time, using more than 30,000 pieces — recently won the Best of Brickfête Award at a massive Lego fan festival in Toronto.
The mini CBC will soon be on display inside its real world counterpart: near the CBC Museum on July 19th and 20th for CBC Kids Days, where it may remain on semi-permanent display.
Have a closer look and see if you can spot Peter Mansbrick, the building's beehive and a cell phone disguised as a big-screen TV.
This is what the Canadian Broadcasting Centre building, located in downtown Toronto, really looks like.
Image | CBC Broadcast Centre Toronto Apr 9 2014
Caption: The real Canadian Broadcasting Centre is located at 250 Front Street West in Toronto, with back and side entrances on Wellington Street West and John Street. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
And this is what the same building looks like in Lego.
Image | CBC building
Caption: Julio Preuss ordered roughly 30,000 Lego pieces, and used countless more that he already owned, to build his realistic replica of the CBC building.
Image | CBC building
Caption: The southwest view of the building allows visitors to peer into various rooms. (Julio Preuss)
Now, let's take a tour of the building's interior.
Image | Stage
Caption: With the exception of the Brickstuff lighting system and the "big screen TV" (actually a disguised cell phone), the model is built exclusively with Lego. "I wouldn’t have it any other way," says Preuss. (Julio Preuss)
Image | Master Control
Caption: These dutiful workers in master control are among the 150 'minifigs' featured in the model. (Julio Preuss)
Image | Famous Mini Figs
Caption: Mini Dressup, the Friendly Mini-Giant and Brick Mercer are among the building's more familiar faces. (Julio Preuss)
Image | Peter Mansbrick
Caption: And while the real Peter Mansbridge retired on Canada Day, his mini doppleganger (Peter Mansbrick) remains dutifully at his desk. (Julio Preuss)
Image | Mail robot
Caption: A mini mail robot (yes, there is a real fleet of these in the building) sneaks up on a scared co-op student. (Julio Preuss)
Image | Radio station
Caption: An aerial view into a radio station, where Matt Leggoway is conducting an interview. And check out the detail on this mini grand piano. (Julio Preuss)
Image | Beehives on the roof
Caption: Yes, there are real, working beehives on the roof of the CBC. "Once a year employees can buy tasty CBC honey." (Julio Preuss)
Image | CBC Lego prize
Caption: The mini CBC recently won the Best of Brickfête Award. The trophy is now on display in the Lego CBC, safely positioned near the security desk. (Julio Preuss)