Hi everyone, today I’m introducing Nooks, Earth in creative mode.
Nooks turns real geographic data, including OpenStreetMap, into miniature block worlds you can explore in your browser. The public preview displays four cities: Toronto, New York, San Francisco and Paris, with changing light, local weather and the real sky overhead.
Try it: https://app.nooks.place/
The idea is to make working with geography feel as approachable as building with blocks. Instead of needing specialist modelling skills to design or reshape a place, you could explore a familiar neighbourhood and start creating. The current preview is read-only; editing is the next layer.
OSM’s appeal is the detail contributed by people who know these places. Streets, buildings, parks and waterways give each reconstruction its character.
If you know one of the four cities, does the reconstruction capture what makes it recognisable?