The Union Buildings
| Building information
| |
| Name of build: | The Union Buildings |
| Build coordinates: | 13691, -22732 |
| Creator(s): | Shield543 |
| Warp: | unionbuildings |
The Union Buildings is the name of a build in Acacia Park created by player Shield543 between 2021 and 2022.
The build is based on the real life building of the same name, located in Pretoria, South Africa. Built in 1913 and designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker, the buildings are the seat of the South African Government and serve as the offices of the president. The buildings are generally referred to in the plural because there are two very distinct wings connected by a crescent. They have been compared as the 'White house' of South Africa.
Recreation in MineCraft
In MineCraft, 1 metre is equivalent to 1 block in length. According to measurements of the real buildings, their length of 285 metres would correspond to 285 blocks. This had to be extended to 296 blocks to accommodate certain features. Previous attempts to recreate the Union Buildings in MineCraft are not known.
The build was designed using original blueprints, photographs, Google Earth, and maps. Early in the design process it was decided that it would be impractical to fully recreate the interior floorplan of the Union Buildings. For the scope of the project, only the exterior layout was preserved and the interior was made according to an arbitrary design.
Resources
The build contains an enormous amount of resources, much of which was obtained with the help of other players on Crazy-Fools UK. Below is a summary of the numbers of primary resources involved in the initial completed build:
| Block | Number |
|---|---|
| Smooth Sandstone | 54191 |
| Stripped Jungle Wood: | 38838 |
| Smooth Sandstone: | 22212 |
| Acacia Slab: | 14832 |
| Smooth Sandstone Stairs: | 4053 |
| Glass Panes: | 3296 |
| Lantern: | 1513 |
| Glass: | 1488 |
| Sandstone Wall: | 1155 |
| Iron Bars: | 1045 |
| Jungle Stairs: | 728 |
Collaboration
While the build was primarily designed by Shield543 in creative mode, its realisation on the Crazy-Fools UK server would not be possible without the help of many other players. A board honouring the help and assistance given by various players is contained within the build and is depicted below:
