NSQ Architecture Challenge

The annual challenge theme for Newington Schoolhouse Quilters this year is "Architecture." I spent a great deal of time last fall looking at some spectacular examples of architecture, especially the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavik, which is built from hexagons. That prospect was too daunting to tackle at this point (mostly since I procrastinated for too long) so instead I decided to work from a photo of the building where the University of Nottingham housed us for six weeks:

Second-Place Winner of the 2008 Carbuncle Cup, awarded for "appalling" British architecture:
Amenities Building, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus

This building may have been considered an eyesore by British architects, but we thought it was delightfully contemporary. We loved the high ceilings, the wrap-around windows, and I was impressed by the funky patchworky exterior. So, patchwork it is! Tonight I started piecing very tiny rectangles for the bottom of the building. Each segment finishes at only half-inch by one-and-a-half inch. I have approximated the lower windows and doors with some nifty architectural fabrics that I have had kicking around for years, but those parts aren't pieced realistically. Still, I'm pretty happy with a first night's work: