In November of 2022, a massive creation showed up on several platforms with an amazingly detailed version of Venice in the Middle Ages, seemingly during the height of the Republic of Venice. I was amazed by the number of small details and building techniques sprinkled throughout the build made by Barthezz Bricks. If you were following the builder, however, you would not completely be surprised by what kind of buildings and bridges and ships were put in this amazing creation.

He kept us all updated about the things he was building, showing us the steps he went through to build one of the amazing buildings he put into his creation. I loved that because it showed us how many things change during the creative process that is necessary when it comes to building large layouts like this. I decided to sit down with him and talk to him about the challenges that such a large layout brings with it.

Bram: This build is beyond impressive, full of amazing details and small little scenes, but what I was wondering the most about this… where do you start with such a build?

Bart: Do you mean the idea behind it or the build itself?

Bram: Both, really.

Bart: My girlfriend and I went to Venice about four years ago. She asked why I wouldn’t build something from Venice once in a while. I would like to do that, but then in a way that best suits my creativity and my own style of building. I started the build itself by diving into the history of Venice throughout the ages and finding a suitable time to place my creation within its history.

Looking at how stunning these buildings look like I would definitely be looking for them in Venice not knowing Bart came up with them all by himself.

Bram: Which probably got you to the year which you mention in the title of 1486 This seems a rather specific date—why did you use this specific year?

Bart: In my research for the style of build I wanted to use for this creation, I went into a Wikipedia rabbit hole throughout the history of Venice. I have a certain interest in crusaders and templars and saw in my research that in the year 1486, a Doge was appointed with strong connections to the Templar Order, which made it all come together.

Bram: So then you had the year in which it was placed. How did this influence how accurate the actual buildings would be for their real-life counterparts?

IIt’s details like the Ivy along the walls here are what really mae me appreciate the build even more. Everywhere you look you find a new detail.

Bart: Actually, there are no real-life counterparts. All these buildings are from my own imagination and are my version of how buildings would have looked in those days. I started with wanting to build a sailboat but also certain styles of buildings that would fit with the right time. I did extensive research into the history of Venice architecture, to the point where I needed to know if it had drainpipes or a sewage system. I wanted to build lighting posts but was not sure if they would have them in those times because obviously there was no gas or electricity to light them. But perhaps they would exist with candles, which happened to be the case.

Not to say that everything is perfectly historically accurate, but it is quite historically accurate. Waterlilly’s for instance do not grow on salt water, which makes up most of the water in the canals of Venice, but my inclusion of these plants breaks up the monotomy of the water itself. I even researched who was trading with Venice during that time and who was at war, that’s why the main sailboat is from Florence, which was a trade partner of Venice at the time it is set.

Bram: You’ve been building this on and off again for the past three years. I would assume that every once in a while you’d want to build something else or were totally done with this subject (I know I would be…). How did you motivate yourself to keep building for this creation?

Bart: I actually started from scratch about three times during the process. There are always certain points in building where I think to myself: Do I really still like this? Is this a build I’m proud of? So I started sharing works in progress, which really gave me different points of view about what I was building, also giving me new motivation to keep going with it. This also helped me greatly in building it in a more modular style and gave me insight into how I previously kept building.

I have never started a project while I was still building something else, so the past three years have been all about finishing Venice, with one exception a build to announce the birth of my son. That doesn’t mean I didn’t have ideas to build other things, but I just write them down so I can use them in future builds.

This building must be one of the eyecathers in this amazing layout. I love how it is a perfect transition between the water and the city proper.

Bram: The amount of detail in this build is astonishing, almost every little corner has had attention, and it seems like no brick has been placed there without intent. How did you make sure that there was room for everything you included?

Bart: I didn’t, haha. I started building the large buildings themselves and how I wanted to position them. The water and all the other things around it were all built later. I always look for line of sight within these builds to make sure everything is visible and not blocked by other things. All the details within like the scenes with the minifigures were all made in the last couple of weeks.

This is one of my favorite pictures. BArt said he like to look for a line of sight and this whole scene set-up is a perfect example of that. It almost looks like a set for a movie or tv-show.

Bram: Were there things you planned for this build that you had to scrap because of time or different reasons?

Bart: Not because of time, but more because it didn’t fit in this particular part of the story. I never compromise and what I wanted to build I added. In fact, this whole build should have just been the dark orange and olive green buildings with a sailboat in front of it, but I just kept finding more things that I wanted to add, to make it more realistic and more like Venice looked back then.

The water surely stands out from this build and it really ties the whole layout together, which is rather important as Venice is quite famous for its canals.

Bram: Are there any particular techniques you used in this that you are proud of?

Bart: The way I built the round towers gives a really unique look, and I have never seen it done like this before. The same can be said of the way I made the water. Although it is very parts intensive, it gives a really cool and realistic effect.

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Bram: How the hell do you transport a build like this to conventions?

Bart: Like I said before, I made everything really modular, so it was easy to take apart the main layout. I built custom wooden boxes to transport everything in, which fit most of the things really well. The boats were a bit more challenging, but I wrapped them in bubble wrap and made sure they could not fall over. I did, unfortunately, have to rent a van as it did not fit in my own car or even two separate cars. This is also the reason why I won’t take it to many conventions or events.

Bram: This is the last in a couple of builds you’ve based on fantasy works, seeing Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings creations in your portfolio. Is that where you draw the most inspiration from?

Bart: The build itself started as I said before when my girlfriend wanted me to build Venice. The Assassin’s Creed part came up much later when I was already pretty far along. It just happened to mesh together well with the time period in which I set it, with the connection to the Templars and such.

I would say my main inspiration is actually history and the medieval-style architecture of castles and houses. It just happens that fantasy works often use those same tropes and inspiration. When I see a certain scene in a movie or show, it’s often the atmosphere that gives me inspiration and makes me want to build in that style. I even make little notes on my phone with a timestamp and a description of a certain scene in a movie or TV show that I’d like to revisit to draw inspiration from or maybe recreate in LEGO.

Can you really call it Venice without showing one of its many gondolas that traverse the canals?

Bram: This is the first in a total of four builds you’ve planned revolving around the Assassin Darion set in the Assassin’s Creed universe. Can you already share what is next in his exciting story? And more importantly, will the other builds be as big and impressive as this one?

Bart: This chapter is about observing the target of the Assassin and I really wanted to tell the story about how such an assassin goes around marking his target all up to the assassination part. So I really wanted to show the process of his methods, which all begins with observing. The other builds will be focussed on the other things that are necessary for planning the assassination. The next build will probably be about half of what I have built now. Which, granted, is still rather big. I really want to make sure that every build is somehow connected to the first, how exactly I plan on doing this is something I’m still working out.

Bram: I’m looking forward to seeing that in the next three years (just kidding). Thank you so much for your time!

Bart: No thank you, and you’re welcome.

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published June 7, 2023.

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