Together, my son and I have completed three other Lego Architecture Series projects as well including The Robbie House, Falling Water (the Kauffman House) and Villa Savoye. Of the four, I would have to say that visually - the Imperial Hotel is probably my favorite of the four sets. The Robbie House is certainly impressive as well but the finished Imperial Hotel is a wonderful scale and the color combinations are really beautiful. The really neat thing about the Robbie house is that you can remove the roofs and put a few battery operated LED lights on the inside and the building will glow from the inside out (talk about impressing my nine year old and the nine year old in all of us.). It's not possible to light the Imperial Hotel as the roof planes are locked in place once they are put together.
If you are thinking of buying this set for a kid under 12 years old you should be aware that there are A LOT of small pieces and some fairly tricky steps involved in the construction of the final product. Even with some pretty close supervision - there were a few times where we had to go back a few steps and take things apart because of some minor confusion (A pain with these really small pieces). If you are prepared to take some time and have a good deal of patience it all pays off in a beautiful final product - and gives both kids and adults a good sense of accomplishment when you snap the last Lego into place.
Also - I am an architect and this is a really fun way to introduce kids to the joys of architecture and begin to introduce young people to the vocabulary of design and architecture. The projects allow you demonstrate various aspects of visual design such as the horizontal planes favored by Mr. Wright, the use of colors and materials and even some structural concepts such as cantilevers and post-and-beam concepts. My boy may not follow in my footsteps as an architect but these projects certainly give him an idea of the wonders and ideas of architecture and his father's passion. I only hope that Lego continues to put out more of the Architecture Series. (How about Taliesin West Lego people?)
If you are just starting out with the Lego Architecture series and doing the project with a kid, I would recommend starting with the easier projects first and working up - start with the Farnsworth House or Villa Savoye, move up to Falling Water and then it's pretty much a toss-up in terms of difficulty/time for the Robbie House and the Imperial Hotel sets. Just be patient and willing to put in the time and your efforts will be rewarded.
In the end - all of these projects are like little pieces of art - I have them on my desk in my den and office and people are always commenting and amazed that these are Lego projects.
One final note - this is NOT the entire Imperial Hotel - This Lego project only represents a small part of a much larger hotel complex. This Lego set represents only the entry lobby portico - so purists should be aware of that aspect and not expect that you are going to do the entire hotel as Mr. Wright designed the project.
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