Big Dream of the Day: Architects Launch a Crowdfunding Campaign to Build an Actual, Life-Sized Lord of the Rings City

Some want to read fantasy books to escape the real world. These architects want to do just the opposite.

A team of architects launched an Indiegogo campaign a few weeks ago with a goal to build a life-sized approximation of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginary city Minas Tirith, from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Yes, they want to build an actual, full scale Minas Tirith somewhere in England.

We are an ambitious team of architects and structural engineers who are passionate about creating a beautiful, inspirational and fully-functioning replica of Peter Jackson's depiction of Minas Tirith, as seen in his Lord of the Rings films.

We believe that, in realising Minas Tirith, we can create not only the most remarkable tourist attraction on the planet, but also a wonderfully unique place to live and work.

We aim to create both residential and commercial properties, allowing for sustainable growth and a high quality of life.

They only need £1,850,000,000 to make it happen. That's $288,2947,500, stateside.

In order to realise this amazing dream, we have calculcated our required budget to be in the region of £1.85bn. The vast majority of this expense will cover building costs - £15m for land, £188m for labour and £1.4bn for material.

The remainder of the money will be invested in maintenance and public services until the year 2053. We aim to commence work on Minas Tirith by the end of 2016, and complete the project by the end of 2023. We are currently considering two locations for Minas Tirith, both in southern England.

A wealth of available perks are all set and ready for those who donate. The architects will follow you on Twitter for a donation of £3 and you will receive a four-bedroom luxury penthouse for a donation of £1.7 million.

This perk goes to those who donate 100,000.

Grants you and your family exclusive access to all areas of the city, excluding private residences and businesses, and also permits use of horse-drawn carriages for transport. You will receive priority on property purchases, direct communication links to us (the developers) and a seat on the city's Executive Committee. You will also be invited to many annual exclusive events.

So far, it seems like they've had a tough time selling the project. The campaign has been underway for 12 days, and they've raised over £17,000 at the time of this writing, but that's not even 1 percent of the goal.

The campaigners have an appropriately pun-filled Twitter account to keep those interested up to date.

What a day to be alive! We've reached £10,000, so here's a celebratory #LOTR pun from us on the #realiseminas team pic.twitter.com/1gUovn3E9r

— Realise Minas Tirith (@realiseminas) August 13, 2015