Tag Archives: Architecture

LEGO provides the perfect medium for recreating the buildings and landmarks of the world — LEGO has even released a line of official LEGO Architecture sets. Check out our coverage of the official sets, and don’t miss all the gorgeous architectural models created by LEGO fans from around the world.

Reaching for the sky in China

Spencer Rezkalla (Spencer R) is a master of micro-scale skyscrapers, and his models have been featured on TBB many times. That does not stop me from calling your attention to his latest project, however. The US may be known for cities full of skyscrapers, such as Chicago and New York, but nowadays most such buildings are being constructed in Asia and Spencer has now turned his attention to China, building the Shanghai World Financial Center and the Jin Mao Tower.

Lujiazui

The subtle curve and the way the façades intersect on the Shanghai Financial Tower is particularly noteworthy. A third skyscraper, called the Shanghai Tower, is currently under construction next to these two and is due for completion in 2014. As you can see from the picture above, Spencer has already saved a spot for it.

Anything but forlorn -the home of the German Parliament

After having been gutted by fire in 1933 and heavily damaged during World War II, the German Reichstag building sat forlornly in West-Berlin for decades, mere meters away from the Berlin Wall. After Germany was reunited, the building was extensively refurbished and fitted with a spectacular glass dome. Since 1999 it has housed the German parliament.
Reichstag, Berlin in LEGO
Check out the clever spacing of all the columns and the way in which Al Disley (aldisley) has built the windows on his microscale version of this grandiose building. Al built the model for an upcoming book called Brick city, by fellow Brit Warren Elsmoore, which will be out in early May. Expect a review of the book in a few weeks’ time.

Preserving Preston bus station’s Brutalist architecture in LEGO

I don’t think I’d ever call Brutalist buildings beautiful, but they’re certainly interesting. Fairly unpopular and often built from materials like concrete that don’t always stand the test of time, many Brutalist structures are at risk. Rob H. (rh1985moc) built a LEGO version of Preston bus station in England to highlight the latest plan to demolish it.

Brutalist train station

Rob even highlights the stark lines and curves of his LEGO model using photo processing reminiscent of snapshots from the 60′s or 70′s. Head on over to Flickr for interior shots.

The Morris Museum in LEGO

It’s always hard to take (and for me to choose) shots of large LEGO buildings, especially shots that show them off in all their glory. With Jonathan Lopes’ (BKNY Bricks) latest model, I chose the angle that I though best demonstrated the fun parts (see below) and you’ll just have to follow the trail to see more. Here Jonathan has recreated the Morris Museum under commission to be displayed at the real useum.

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On the topic of fun, Jonathan said “while the original building is 100 years old, there have been a few additions built onto it over the years. This meant for a very interesting design and build – with the varying architectural styles and all.”. And that sounds like fun to me.

First pictures of LEGO Architecture 21017 Imperial Hotel

Pictures of an upcoming Lego Architecture has surfaced for 21017 Imperial Hotel. There’s no word on the price or release date, but you can find more pictures on Eurobricks.

Edit (AB): A few notes about the real-world building: Frank Lloyd Wright designed the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, and construction was finished on the Maya Revival-style complex in 1923, just in time for the Great Kanto Earthquake that same year. The structure survived, though with some damage, ultimately having to be torn down several decades later. This will be the first LEGO Architecture set inspired by a building in Japan.