Bridge construction

Among the many remarkable monuments and structures crafted by humanity over millennia, bridges stand out as some of the most functional. Spanning across waters and mountains to navigate challenging terrains, bridges have connected people for centuries. For me, they primarily serve as a means to engage in an intense game of Poohsticks.

The 20-year-old Dutch Macaroni is no stranger to bridges or their purposes. Of course not! Everyone crosses a bridge from time to time. However, what’s noteworthy is that Macaroni constructed his own bridge after nearly two years away from Minecraft PE—a bridge he hoped would earn him a spot in the prestigious developer community known as Team Visionary. The project? Géfira zoís.

But first, let’s rewind six years. Macaroni discovered MCPE when survival mode was introduced, but initially focused on building simple houses. Over the years, his ambitions grew to more elaborate projects on public servers. He even became an admin for a server hosting over 20 players, meeting many new faces along the way.

“I might have crashed that server a few times, [accidentally], of course. But it was during that time I created several builds I’m really proud of,” recalls Macaroni.

Unfortunately, Sunfury, Macaroni’s team, had been inactive for quite some time. What began as a vibrant social experience turned into solitude. Macaroni found himself alone and decided to step away from Minecraft Pocket Edition.

“I still occasionally logged onto servers,” he says, “but all my old friends were gone, and I hardly knew anyone anymore. So I just gave up.”

Despite his long absence from the game, Macaroni felt unfinished with his endeavors. So, after 18 months, he picked up his pickaxe once again in Minecraft Pocket Edition.

“I had such a great time playing [Minecraft] and made lots of friends,” explains Macaroni. To his delight, upon returning to Minecraft, he frequently encountered those old friends—and they were still building!”

“I love working with other people’s photos, through various links, because there are so many beautiful works that make me think, ‘Wow, it would be interesting to challenge myself in Minecraft!'”

Eager to dive back into the building community, Macaroni sought to join the Visionary team at a friend’s suggestion. He needed to complete a two-week trial period and create the best possible build with a minimum size of 300×300 blocks to qualify. “I also enjoy doing work where I have to build for someone specific, on request,” explains Macaroni, “because it gives me fresh ideas and new constraints to push my creativity.”

He certainly didn’t settle for anything small. What kind of build? Well, you guessed it—Géfira zo!

Roughly translating to “bridge of life” from Greek, Géfira zoís features a grand bridge connecting two magnificent cathedral-like buildings, each set at the base of an island. The structures linked by the bridge boast a retrospective color palette and are adorned with arched windows reminiscent of Milan Cathedral.

“The main concept came from a reference image,” says Macaroni. “The idea of a majestic bridge merging into the rock. I love working with reference photos because there are so many stunning pieces that make me think, ‘Wow, that would be tough to replicate in Minecraft.'”

With his new project underway, Macaroni started by creating large sandstone cubes, carving out the rocky terrain of the island to get a general sense of the overall shape of the structure. Then he began adding walls.

The construction itself turned out to be massive, with some of the smaller walls reaching heights of up to 100 blocks. This posed challenges, especially when it came to making the exterior visually appealing. The solution involved incorporating small details and numerous windows to enhance attractiveness, thereby drawing attention to the finer points.

“I’m very proud of the fact that the bridge is incredibly tall yet doesn’t merely appear high like in photographs. It feels like a medium-sized structure, but as you walk across the bridge, it suddenly becomes apparent how enormous it is, and I just love that about it!” he shares. It also adds realism to the build: “It hardly seems fair that a tunnel is blocked by a wall of black wool.”

After two weeks of intensive work, Géfira zoís was completed and ready for showcase. As you might guess, Macaroni’s assembly met all expectations and received praise from Team Visionary, being nominated as “uniquely designed construction,” despite the wool tunnel (poor sheep). Macaroni didn’t mind. He passed the test and will collaborate with the same friend who recommended him to the team!

“I enjoy collaborating with others, and I hope to continue working together for some time,” explains Macaroni. “I used to be better than [that friend] who brought me into the team; now I’ve become someone who has learned a lot from him, and I’m grateful. He’s grown in his building skills, and I love watching how he works and teaches. Now, I can say I enjoy seeing people grow in their craft.”

Thus, Macaroni will keep building bridges, block by block, alongside his companions!