The New York architecture-themed chess set by UK-based start-up Skyline Chess is a sight to behold for architects who are fans of the long-living strategy game. Instead of the traditional forms for the king, queen, knights, bishops, rooks, and pawns, designers Ian Flood and Chris Prosser used the silhouettes of famous buildings that shape the skyline of New York City.
The designers compared the proportions of famous NYC buildings to the original chess pieces in order to choose the buildings which shall best represent each piece. The chosen buildings were adapted into pieces by hand-drawing them, then finalizing their designs using CAD. Finally, the pieces were injection molded, leaving a cavity inside to be filled with metal weight core for balance.
The buildings featured in the chess set are the One World Trade Center as the King, the Empire State Building as the Queen, the Chrysler Building as the Bishop, the Flatiron Building as the Knight, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as the Rook, and Brownstone Houses as Pawns.
The New York-themed chess set is not the start-up’s first city-themed chess set. They have already designed a London themed set, featuring the Shard, the Gherkin, London Eye, and the Big Ben. You may find more details on the designer’s Kickstarter campaign here.
More info: arch2o.com
