Constructing a Suburban House

Ioulia Trouskova
WRIT 3562W: Technical and
Professional Writing
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Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3-7
Equipment and materials needed .......................................................................................................... 3
Downloading instructions ....................................................................................................................... 3
Navigation and use .............................................................................................................................. 4-6
Visual summary of tools/palettes………………………………………………………………………………………………………7

Instructions on constructing the Suburban House…….……………………………………………………………………………7

List of construction materials ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8

Procedure steps…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..9-15

-Foundation…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9-11

-Roof…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12-13

-Decorations…………………………………………………………………………………………………………13-15
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INTRODUCTION

Audience and Purpose of this manual:

This manual tells you how to construct the “Suburban House” online using Lego Digital Designer
(Version 1.6) and is intended for college students who know how to use a computer.

Equipment and materials needed:

The materials needed in order to construct a “Suburban House” include a computer that is connected to
the internet and access to the Lego website, where you will need to download the Lego Digital Designer
program for free.
Installing the Lego Digital Designer Program:
In order to find and install the program follow the following instructions:
1. Go to http://ldd.lego.com/download/archive.aspx
2. Click on either of the two options offered located above the picture: Mac or PC
3. Follow subsequent directions to download the program.
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BASICS OF NAVIGATION AND USE

Selecting Bricks:
In order to select a specific brick, go to the Brick Palette located on the right side of the screen and select
the needed brick by clicking on it once. To select a different kind of brick, go to the Category Palette on
the right side (above the Brick Palette) and select the type of brick you want by clicking on it once. The
bricks for that type of brick will appear in the Brick Palette.

Category Palette
Brick Palette

Rotating and inserting Bricks:

In order to rotate brick, you can use the arrow keys on the keypad. To place the brick on the baseplate,
simply click on the brick icon again at the spot where you want to place it at.
Changing the Point of View of the Model:
To see the model you are constructing from a different angle/point of view, use the Camera
Gadget located on the bottom left corner of the screen. Simply press on the arrows when
you need to look at the model from a different angle. Using this gadget, you can also zoom
in or zoom out by clicking on the +/- sign. If you prefer to use your keypad, the numbers
8, 4, 6, and 2 are used to change the point of view, while the + and – signs are used to
zoom in and zoom out, respectively. Camera Gadget

Number 8 Up
Number 4 Left
Number 6 Right
Number 2 Down
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Changing the Color of the Bricks:

To change the color of a brick that is already on the baseplate, click on the paint tool located on
the top left corner that has a can of paint drawn on it. Next, click on the brick whose color you
want to change. An inventory of possible colors for that brick will pop up. Paint tool

If you do not want to change the color of a specific brick, but rather want to see all the available bricks for
each specific color, click on the color palette located on the bottom right side of the screen, beneath the
Brick Palette. When you click on a specific color, all the possible bricks for that specific color will show
up in the Brick Palette, above the Color Palette. The letter “T” in the Color Palette represents transparent
colors.

Color Palette

Moving Bricks:
To move bricks that have been placed on the baseplate, click on the Selection Tool located on the left side
of the screen that has an arrow on it. After clicking on the Selection Tool, click on a brick in your model
to move it. You can use this tool to move one brick at a time. To move more than one brick at once, read
below:
1. Moving more than one Brick at once: Click on the yellow arrow to the right of the Selection
ToolSelect the arrow with a plus signclick on the bricks that you want to move.
2. Moving a group of connected Bricks at once: Click on the yellow arrow to the right of the Selection
Tool Select the arrow with an asterisk click on the group of connected bricks you want to
move.
3. Moving bricks of the same color at once: Click on the yellow arrow to the right of the Selection
ToolSelect the arrow with a can (fourth from the left) click on a brick that has the color that
you want to move.
4. Moving bricks of the same design at once: Click on the yellow arrow to the right of the Selection
ToolSelect the arrow with a box (fifth from the left) click on a brick that has the design that
you want to move.
5. Moving bricks of the same design and color at once: Click on the yellow arrow to the right of the
Selection ToolSelect the arrow with 2 objects (sixth from the left) click on a brick that has the
design and color that you want to move.

Selection Tool
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Connecting Bricks Together:

To snap bricks together so that they automatically connect to each other, turn the Stick Mode on by
clicking on the Stick Mode icon located on the left side of the screen.

Stick Mode
Copying Bricks:
If you want to make a copy of a specific brick that is already in your model, select the Clone Tool
located on the left side of the screen (below the arrow icon). You can select more than one brick in
your model using the Selection Tool (see “Moving Bricks “on page ) and then copying all of them
using the Clone Tool. Clone Tool

Adjusting Hinges:
To adjust the hinge bricks in your model, select the Hinge Tool located on the left side of the screen.
Once selected, click on the hinge brick you want to adjust and adjust it using the arrow keys on your
keypad.
Hinge Tool
Deleting Bricks:
If you want to delete a brick that has been placed in your model, select the icon with the X and then click
on the brick that you want to delete. You can also click on the brick you want to eliminate and drag it to
the Brick Palette, releasing the brick by clicking on the Brick Palette.
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VISUAL SUMMARY OF SOME TOOLS/PALETTES

Stick mode Icon Category

Palette

Delete
Icon
Brick
Palette

Hinge Tool

Camera Create Color Exit Lego

Save Undo/
new Palette Digital
Gadget model Repeat
model Designer
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INSTRUCTIONS

List of Materials needed to construct the “Suburban House”:

In order to construct the “Suburban House” model, you will need different types of blocks. Keep in mind
that all these blocks can be selected from the Brick Palette using the Category Palette.

Total Number of Blocks Needed: 117

Basic Bricks:

- 41 reddish brown bricks (2x2)

- 2 dark red bricks (1x2)
- 8 white bricks (1x8)
Tiles:

- 5 black flat tiles (2x2)

- 31 reddish brown flat tile
- 1 bright red flat tile (2x2)
- 16 bright yellow radiator grilles (1x2)
Decorations:

- 8 white fences (1x4x2)

- 3 dark green spruce trees
- 2 medium stone grey shutters (2x3)
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Procedure Steps to Construct the “Suburban House”:

Building the Foundation:

1. Click on the Star icon to start a new model.

2. In the Category Palette, select the “Basic Bricks” icon.

Basic Bricks

Reddish brown
brick (2x2)

3. Change the view of your mode to a one dimensional view by pressing on the upward yellow arrow
located on the bottom left. This will make placing the bricks easier.

4. From the Brick Palette select the reddish brown brick (2x2). The name of each brick is shown
when you click on it.
The reddish brown brick (2x2) is shown in the above snapshot.

5. Place the brick in the middle of the plane.

6. Place a total of four bricks on each side so that the formed structure resembles half of a square like
this:
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7. Place four more bricks of the same kind as shown below on the diagram below.

8. Fill the inside with black flat tiles as shown below.

The black tiles can be found in the “Tiles” section of the Category Palette.

Tiles

Black tile
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9. Select a group of brick all at once as shown below.

Selection Tool to select a

group of bricks.

10. Copy the selected bricks.

11. Superimpose the copied structure on top of the original structure.
You can choose to change the view of the model to make superimposing easier.
NOTE: If you choose to superimpose using the one dimensional view, the model may not come
out 100% superimposed.

12. Repeat steps 10-11 TWO more times. The result should look like this:
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Constructing a Roof:

13. From the Category Palette select “Basic Bricks” and select the white brick (1x8) from the Brick
Palette.
You can find the white brick almost at the end of the given options.

14. Move the white brick on top of the formed model to form a roof as shown below:

15. Cover the white roof with reddish brown flat tiles (1x2).
Leave an opening for the chimney.
HINT: Use the Clone tool and Selection Tool to make the process faster.
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16. Place two bright red bricks (1x2) on top of each other in the opening you left in step 15.

Adding “Decorations” to the house:

17. Place a flat bright red tile inside the window opening.
The red tile is located in the “Tile” option of the Category Palette.
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18. Select the bright yellow radiator grille (1x2) from the Tiles icon of the Category Palette.
Place the grille in front of the door opening, as shown below:

19. Select two medium stone grey shutter (2x3) from the “Decorations” icon of the Category Palette.
Place them adjacent to the door as shown:
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20. From the same Category Palette (Decorations), select a dark green spruce tree.
Place three spruce trees at 3 corners of the house.

21. Select a white fence (1x4x2) from the Category Palette (Decorations).
Put 4 fences on the two sides of the house as shown:

22. Congratulations! You have finished building the “Suburban House”!