I get most of my architectural inspiration from photography. This week’s building is no different, as I saw an image a while back with all the elements of this building: the sloping base, the tall stone and the vertical panes of glass. It took me a couple tries to make it my own.

I’ve been really digging small brutalist buildings lately and my inspiration file is running over. This latest model is a perfect example, with hard concrete angles in a small package.

I am intrigued by the concept of architecture as canvas, where images are rendered with light and texture. The scale of Micropolis doesn’t provide the resolution for landscapes or portraits, it is possible to create geometric designs.

Not every building in the city is in architectural masterpiece. I’m always struck by the offensive beauty of brutalist buildings, and imagine them as great bastions of bureaucracy. When it came time to build a city government building for my city, I had to make it a concrete monstrosity.

This model was inspired by a larger, more ambitious architecture. I was struck by a building called The Interface, but the scale of it was much too large to be reasonable in Micropolis. The Silversmith building is my scaled-back compromise.

This model came together from a pair of inspirations: translucent bright green bricks and a lovely building by MVRDV called the Valley. I love the idea of creating architecture that fosters public space and living while still having density.