to facade or not to facade?

[armchair_superhero]

after looking at pictures of some of the city buildings people are designing, it got me thinking, what is the preferred building style of the masses - do you build in the traditional 1980's set with the open-back style, do you have lift off levels to gain access inside, or do you (like me) build facade only?

i personally prefer to build facade only, i dont really care to much what the inside of the building looks like, as long as the outside looks top notch.

but should i change my technique now before it's too late, or are there others out there who build like me?

thought people might like to reply to this post and list a few pros and cons of their preferred building style?

[Jargo]

Facade only for me. with maybe a little window dressing to give an impression of a busy interior. I don't have masses of bricks so economies and corner cutting is required. though if a building has a big glass front then I may add more detail. I'm not really a fan of cluttered and chaotic though. I like to keep things simple, clean and streamlined. less is more and all that.

[pinioncorp]

I don't like facades only because being able to see through it derides from the appearance. You only need simple bricks to make a back wall. If you don't build a back to a structure, you really do need an interior due to all the light streaming in through the back. They do however make it easier to play with, if that's your thing.

[Ralph_S]

Cafe corner compatible buildings got me back into building town, so it probably won't come as a surprise that I prefer to build complete buildings, with backs and stairs and everything. It does cost many more parts, but in my opinion the end result is worth it. The buildings look decent from just about any angle, including the back. I also enjoy building interiors -even if you don't really see much of them when the building is put together.

I don't 'play' with my models, so easy access is not a priority. Here are two examples showing the front and back of my chip shop and curry house.

High Street (1) by Mad physicist, on Flickr

High Street (2) by Mad physicist, on Flickr

The large windows in the ground floor mean you get a view of the interior of both and I spent a lot f time making that look nice.

Cheers,

Ralph

[AussieJimbo]

I agree Ralph and I have to say those buildings are great. Excellent brick-built signage too.

:classic:

[Vincent Kessels]

Well I mostly use the style of the Market Street (10190), because I am mostly interested in the outside facade only. That means that I don't have an interior except for stairs, sometimes a fireplace, and fake windows in the back wall.

You can see the effect of not using a back wall in the WIP of my new building:

The ground floor already has a back wall, but the first floor not yet.

[cimddwc]

Like Ralph_S, I got back into building with Café Corner and Market Street, and thus I'm building full buildings with back walls and interior – good looks are more important than access for playing, which I don't do anyway. Much of the interior might be invisible most of the time, but I know it's there, and there are photos. :)

[Teddy]

Dear all,

Like Ralph_S, the modular buildings got me back into Town building.

And I agree 100% with his assessment.

Personally, I prefer a complete building. So front and back walls.

I already started building back walls in my childhood, as the open back building appeared weirdly "open" to me.

Up until a few years ago I never build interiors for my buildings.

My girlfriend her grandmother is a huge fan of my Lego MOCs, and she is an avid doll-house builder.

She really encouraged me to add interiors into the buildings.

At first I was hesitant, as I did not feel the need. But, of course I was willing to give it a go anyway.

Now I really feel interiors add a lot to the creation.

Just the knowledge it is there gives the building an additional dept to me that is hard to explain.

The glimpses through the windows and the surprise of visitors when I show them the interior is more than worth the effort for me.

A building with a nice front facade a solid back wall and a complete interior gives me real satisfaction, and feels complete to me now.

A building lacking this is still considered incomplete by me or a work in progress. My library MOC still lacks an interior.

But, I am still planning for it and putting bricks on top of BL and S@H orders for the interior of the Library.

Kind regards,

Teddy

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some examples of:

The front:

Back walls:

Interior detailing:

[lightningtiger]

Open back highly detailed buildings for the tiger, tried a modular build once and I didn't seem to enjoy it as much as my other builds. I guess it's totally up to everyone of us to have our own thing.....horses for courses and what ever makes you happy in what you create.

For myself, I design and build things that children can look inside and play....well, that's what it is a kid's toy and I guess yet again we are all children at heart.

Brick On Everyone !

[alois]

I also disliked the backless town buildings I played with in the eighties, so when I restarted building not very long ago I made complete buildings. I find an interior less important, although I put one in my latest creation, and it indeed gives it a more complete feel. But the facade nevertheless remains the most important part of a builidng for me, especially when it is supposed to be combined with other buildings in ar row, like the modular buildings. Conclusion: the backside is there more to be felt than to be seen.

[Geertos13]

Hmmm.... I'm a huge fan of MOC with higly detailed interiors and I think Facades always lose some beauty...

As a Brickfilmer however, I have often been forced to build facades in order to save up my pieces to have the biggest set as possible.

If I just want to build something sweet, than I would go for a fully detailled building with interior.

I don't think it will ever be "too late" to change your ways. It is your style and I can only encourage you to specify yourself in building facades. Beeing specialized in one style is absolutly a +.

I would say : Continue making facades and don't change your ways !

[L@go]

Cafe corner compatible buildings got me back into building town, so it probably won't come as a surprise that I prefer to build complete buildings, with backs and stairs and everything. It does cost many more parts, but in my opinion the end result is worth it.

Hear, hear! I, like so many others, was lured back into Lego in general by the Café Corner and its likes. So I agree - to me the best buildings are complete with front and back walls. That said, I quite like the old-fashioned Town buildings with open backs, too - but if I had to choose, it's easy. It's like asking whether you'd like a wooden cottage or a mansion - they could both look nice, but the mansion is a bit better. And a lot more expensive.

Now I really feel interiors add a lot to the creation.

Absolutely. And as Ralph also said, it's a lot of fun to build them (it's challenging to make a good interior in that scale) although you don't really see them all that well when the building is finished. It's satisfying to know that they're there! Just before I fell asleep last night I was thinking that I want to add an interior to my official modular buildings, too. I used to think that was a daunting task, but now that I've built a couple of modular MOCs complete with interior, it seems like a logical next step.

And by the way, Teddy: I adore that train station. ADORE.

[Jasper Joppe Geers]

Personally, when i create something i like

to go all the way. So not only the facade,

but the inside, floor, and (if possible)

roof as well. The more detail you can fit

into it, the better in my opinion!

Cheers,

JJ

[jth781]

Personally I like to do all three if i'm building a Modular building I include a interior or if it's just a building for my city I most often don't but a back on it but I do always have a interior in all my buildings.

[wooootles]

I go all the way---interior, back wall, exterior. Like the other MOCers above me, Cafe Corner pulled me back in, although Green Grocer was my first set in 10ish years)

I probably wouldn't be collecting LEGO again if it weren't for super=detailed modular sets.

Which is why I havent posted MOC buildings as of late--it can get real expensive real quick!!! But oh so worth it.

[streifen]

i like my MOC modulars to have the full works i.e. back wall, full furnishings, details (if need be and feeling rich - read further on "rich").

in the past when i got the earlier building sets, my main gripe was the opening at the back and lack of interior details. with the CC-MS-GG out, my wish was granted.

however to really do up a "complete" modular (or not) building, i need to get many parts, accessories from elsewhere, most likely Bricklink. that can be pretty expensive. to date in the past few months, i have spent nearly GBP400 on parts alone. and only 1 MOC is completed. the others are still WIP.

Conclusion: give me a "complete" building with interior done-up anytime and i go weak in the knees.

[armchair_superhero]

wow, some interesting and very valid responses there.

i've put backs and roofs on the facades of my buildings, so as they fit in smoothly with the neighbouring cafe corner etc.

i found i saved a lot more bricks by leaving out the interior detail. maybe if i was willing to let children touch and play with my creations, then i'd go to that extra effort with the interior.

gee this building thing can become an expensive little hobby! my latest (still unfinished) design is 8000bricks and counting, gonna set me back a few dollars!

[streifen]

armchair_superhero, take ur time on filling the interiors. most important is u must have fun w/ ur lego.

[nicoga3000]

I think it boils down to preference. I care more about the entire feel of the model - how much does the piece suck you into the world you're building? Example, I was sort of let down by the Grand Emporium after I finished it - the first floor was amazing, the outside was amazing, the facade was amazing...But the second and third floor (minus the chandelier) were uninspiring at best. Some of the MOC's I've seen (the Russion Subway by Konnak for example) have just been AMAZING with the level of detail.

But again, whatever makes you happy as the creator!

[shutinc]

after looking at pictures of some of the city buildings people are designing, it got me thinking, what is the preferred building style of the masses - do you build in the traditional 1980's set with the open-back style, do you have lift off levels to gain access inside, or do you (like me) build facade only?

i personally prefer to build facade only, i dont really care to much what the inside of the building looks like, as long as the outside looks top notch.

but should i change my technique now before it's too late, or are there others out there who build like me?

thought people might like to reply to this post and list a few pros and cons of their preferred building style?

A very good topic indeed, which concerns many builders. I guess it's a matter of economy and also what the building is supposed to serve as. If one is to plan and build a big city, it would be more economic to cut corners and to only focus on the facade for each building.

In my case I like to take it all the way out with facade and interior, not leaving anything "blank". I prefer really detailed buildings with interior, and my main goal when building modular buildings is quality over quantity. I'd rather spend two-three months on a single building, making it look as stunning as possible. I'm not saying that a facade by itself with no interior can't be stunning, but it feels in my opinion more empty and inclomplete. I demand perfection from myself and that's probably why I focus mainly on the whole, rather than only building the exterior.

[Gregorovich]

When I build buildings, I like them to have an open back, so I can easily access the interior, which I think IMO is the best part. Although the interior's my favourite bit, I still think just facade buildings look good too.

[Vincent Kessels]

I think only building a facade might be worthwhile.

For example look at the MOC made by crises_crs, on Flickr

I know this isn't a facade of a building, but I think it could work.

[Ralph_S]

As a bit of a side note, I find the different styles of Cafe Corner compatible buildings I see on-line -including some on display in this thread- quite interesting. The sets themselves tend to be quite elaborately ornamented and many people who build their own seem to have adopted that style. I suspect this is at least in part because that way the MOCs look good combined with the sets.

My own buildings aren't as ornamented, typically, mainly because the models I make are supposed to represent the kind of buildings that you'd normally find on a British high street. The ornamentation on the sets is a bit much for my tastes and I normally don't combine my buildings with the sets. While I did build the Cafe Corner Compatible sets that I own -building a set in itself is a pretty rare thing- I don't have any of them in one piece any more. These two are the most elaborately ornamented I have.

British buildings by Mad physicist, on Flickr

Buildings like these do require a fair amount of bricks and it isn't easy to find the right level of details for the particular style, but I think these show that it is very well possible to build realistic buildings without having to go to extremes with the exterior details. If I'd have to spend several months on the same building, I'd probably go

Cheers,

Ralph