Between the reissue of their exclusive Billund Airport set (40199) and the impending release of the delayed Vegas skyline set (21047), LEGO’s Architecture line is bursting with new things. But there are ideas out there that, while not official, feel like they should be. One example is this convincing LEGO Architecture set mockup by Seattle-based British LEGO artist Iain Heath.
Iain Heath has already become something of a media sensation due to his abstract artworks interpreted in LEGO. One of his pieces, a brick rendition of Ellen DeGeneres’ Oscar “groufie”, was actually featured by the host herself in her show.
For his most recent effort, Heath decided to create a LEGO Architecture idea of the skyline of Seattle, the city that he, 51 years old and Britain-born, had lived in for 21 years with the family he started. While LEGO Architecture has a (retired) Space Needle set (21003), this one has its smaller rendition be accompanied by Pike Place Market, Smith Tower and Columbia Tower.
This one looks like a shoo-in for LEGO Ideas. However Iain Heath also uses his artwork for social commentary, and here he scattered bricks at the feet of the Seattle skyline representing tents of the city’s bulging homeless population; hence his name for the mockup piece: “Homeless in Seattle” (98101).
On his Flickr page, Heath described “Homeless in Seattle” as his observation of his residence over recent years: how giant companies like Amazon caused the city economy to boom, enticing people to move in for work, spurring housing prices to rise, and ultimately leaving many people living in tents like his LEGO Architecture set shows.
