A Corner Cafe
This massive project of mine is a work eternally in progress. My goal is to eventually model this building using LDraw and render with POV-Ray. I'll try to post some better photos in the meantime.
Main Street View
In this view, you can see the tables on the patio outdoors, a bus stop bench and a little mailbox, and the phonebox in the background. A strangely-dressed little man on the corner is filming a movie. And there's Bruce, a dependable waiter from China, walking inside (he's a little camera-shy).
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...From his living room in the apartment above, the inimitable Hercule Poirot has a beautiful view of the city. (And he notices his secretary, Miss Lemon, waiting for the bus on the sidewalk below.) |
Alley View
Here you can see the side of the building, with glass blocks in a spiral arrangement echoing the design of the staircase inside. The citizens didn't want an ugly silver trash can in the alley, so they built a black structure to surround and hide it.
...A girl is mailing a letter to her pen pal, and that strange man is still filming his movie. |
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Interior
Here you can see a little bit of the inside of the cafe and the apartment above. There is a lot more detail than can be seen in the photo. The cafe has a high ceiling and some beautiful arch decorations. It is lit by several lamps with glass globes suspended from the ceiling. In the hallway, you can see the very bottom and the very top of the staircase leading upstairs. Hercule's hat is visible as he stands in his living room upstairs, pondering some mystery. His desk lines the wall of windows (though it can't be seen) and he has a comfortable chair and couch for his guests. In the corner by the door stands the piece of art he has recently acquired from a Russian noblewoman. It is built of a stack of crystal blocks topped with a crown of precious metal.
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...Hercule's small fig tree gets all the light it needs to grow through the long windows on the front of the building and the skylights overhead. |
On his way upstairs to visit Poirot, Detective Inspector Japp stops to speak with French Chef Gustave in the hallway. Henry, a friendly older gentleman, waits behind the bar, ready to serve up some ale. And that's Don, Bruce's brother, delivering a delicious snack. Upstairs, Hercule apparently has a visitor who is helping himself to something in the kitchen.
...Those fashionable columns conceal a tiny washroom, and Hercule's bed, bookshelves and wardrobe are in the near corner (hidden by the wall in this view). |
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