As an Industrial Designer and LEGO fan since I couldn't even walk, as soon as I learned of LEGO Stud.io and the BDP I knew I had to participate. I wanted to try and build something special, but accessible for everyone. Something appealing to many, but also something that could keep myself busy for hours by giving me a big challenge right away.

Picking the theme
The first step was picking something fun and exciting to design that would have a lot of replay value. Historical castles and fortresses have always intrigued me since I was little and I've played with the LEGO Castle sets endlessly, the appeal was obvious. And with some of the more recent LEGO castles coming out, stepping away from the traditional square format seemed like a fun challenge. Yet at the same time, I wanted to do something relatable, nostalgic looking, not too complex despite its size and usable as an actual playset to fit in with existing LEGO themes. Sure, LEGO is fun on display, but it's more fun to play with!

So with all the fancy castles and fortresses being submitted every BDP series, what hadn't been done before? I was quickly inspired by a recent visit to Bourthange, a well maintaned and recently thoroughly restored star fortress in the north of the Netherlands. LEGO sets for a suitable time period quickly lead to the Pirates and Soldiers theme. So I opted to place it in the tropics, where many a star fortress had been built. But most of all the pentagon shape and arrowhead bastions would surely make it stand out.

Determining the lay-out and section content

A lot of options here, too many really. Initially I wanted every wall and corner have its own theme, but quickly overwhelmed myself with the amount of bricks needed as at first I tried to put in far too many elements in one side of the fortress. I had to limit the topics, hence I decided that each section should be more sober and as a rule of thumb feature two to three themes. There'd be five walls, with five bastions. That left five corners and connection tunnels to either connect to the bastions directly, or add to the walls.

For the sake of storage, accessability and simplicity, I decided to keep the bastions separate and connect the tunnels to the wall sections. This also allowed me to provide the bastions with their own doors. For similar accessibility reasons, most sections have detachable roofs. Unfortunately this was a little complicated for the bastions, hence I've given those top hatches next to the doors.

The five walls were divided into six sections, with some interchangeability. I initially opted to have one corner with each wall section, but wanted to have a shop somewhere near the storage bastion, so made this into a separate section. The two larger sections would have corners on each end and three smaller sections could now be more compact.

The five bastions: barracks (2x), armory, storage and treasury

The five bastions would house things to keep safe and a means to keep their contents safe: strong sloped walls with a cannon on top, excellent firing angles along the walls and sleeping quarters, storage, treasury or armory inside. The barracks can house five out of six troops and the lighthouse keeper, as at least one soldier should be on guard duty at all time. The armory contains mostly weapons, while the barracks (and access tunnel to it) can store weapons and backpacks/capes of the soldiers. Of course the treasury and its wealth is extra secured with strong locks. Each cannon is mobile and can be repositioned anywhere along the fortress' parapets.

The shop and storage bastion

I thought it'd be fun to combine the shopkeeper's room with the cramped space of the storage room itself, as if she had made due and built herself a home away from home with tiny kitchen and everything the troops and visitors would need in food supplies.

Stairs and ramps

As these fortresses were made for efficient defense and troops getting around quickly to where they were needed, I wanted to keep the central square empty, while there should be multiple ways to reach the bottom or upper level quickly from each corner. Hence three out of five wall sections should have a staircase or access ramp from the main square.

The harbour and gate section

The approach to Bourthange is by a pier with a drawbridge, which fits well with the island setting. The harbour would logically lead to the gate, and since it would have goods brought in and horses to go through, needed both a big gate and a ramp. Question was what to do underneath the ramp. I decided on a chicken coop for some fresh eggs.

I also opted to integrate a fresh water fountain, with any surplus flowing to sea. Underneath the drawbridge the fountain spring's drain can be accessed by opening the subteranean secret gate as a sneaky way to enter or leave the fortress undetected.

The stables and outhouse

One of the most funny things about Bouthange is the prominent wooden outhouses. Hence I've made sure this would be featured. It's placed over the stables, as that smells already anyway. Stables were added, although as is, the fortress is on an island. But, the fortress could be made to be a part of a city's defense. And a governor needs a horse in such a situation.

The governor's bunker

The governor's bunker hosts a command room and the governor's bedchamber. These feature fancy furniture, maps and private belongings, as well as the key to the treasury. I wanted to make it seem like a campaign was being planned here, while also showcasing a little bit more luxury on the governor's behalf.

The front features a nice, removable ornamented façade, but for drama, it doubles to show how two-faced this governor is: Pretty on the front, but on the other side it doubled as the backdrop for a frequently used firing squad, as testamented by the many holes next to the pole with chains. But at least it gives the condemned a nice view over the ocean?

The jail

But of course, to execute a pirate one needs a captive pirate! Hence a large brig for any captured pirates is present. Next to it is the guard's room to keep a watchful eye as those pesky pirates are always trying to break out, or break out their buddies as evidenced by the many cannonballs trying to break down the strong external walls. However, there is a weakness in the jail, there are some loose bars which the resident pirate tries to remove using nothing but his spoon! He'll have to be careful not to spook the parrots nesting in the parrotcote above however!

The lighthouse

Next to the gate, one of the most prominent features is the lighthouse tower with a reef element in front. It features a sundial and a compass square, while on the inside there's a cool spiral staircase. In front, a neat little statue stands as a reminder of the founder of the fortress.

The imperial emissary's sloop

Since I wanted there to be some elements that referenced the various Imperial sets that have been around. Hence combining the red imperial design for the fortress, with the even more nostalgic blue imperial theme is referenced in a few spots. To make this make more sense, I decided to add in a diplomat mission of a diplomat and a crewmember in their small sloop.