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.

Cyber-statue scrutinizes samsāra

If you need a place to say a prayer to the ghost in the shell or the god in the machine, look no further than this LEGO cyber-punk temple by Liu Di Kai! This holy site borrows pieces from a bunch of different LEGO action product lines. The building on the right is decorated with the heads of the Hero Factory villain Xplode, the swords higher up on that tower have been a staple of Ninjago since 2021, and the swords above the statue are from Monkie Kid 2023. Speaking of the statue, this one is modeled after Avalokiteśvara who was given eleven heads by Amitābha – in this case borrowed from C-3PO. What would you pray for at this statue? A sword? Cyber-shoes? I’d want some extra arms to play drums with!

Source Of Strength

Thai-style church gets the LEGO architecture treatment

While the LEGO Group may have only just released the first set based on a house of worship with  21061 Notre-Dame de Paris, churches have long been a popular theme for adult builders, whether coming from an interest in architecture, history, or faith. Inspired by a recent trip to Thailand, builder Anne Mette Vestergård recreates a landmark church very different from the cathedrals and chapels more often seen in LEGO: the Holy Redeemer Church of Bangkok. Built in 1954, the church is built in the style of traditional Thai temples, with square columns, stacked gables, enameled tiles, and decorative chofa along the roof edges. Anne Mette does a phenomenal job recreating the details in miniature, down to the microscale cars out front. Unikitty tails in white integrate surprisingly well as a Thai-style flourish. But it’s that colorful tile roof in the distinct Thai palette that makes the church sublime.

LEGO Holy Redeemer Church Bangkok

Danish builder Anne Mette creates large-scale architectural models professionally, mostly at minifig scale, for public viewing. Whether you’re interested in Nordic history, theme parks, or LEGo as a medium to explore current events, her works are well worth checking out.

Half-timbered LEGO cottage goes full goth

Half-timbered Tudor architecture is a favorite subject for LEGO castle builders. Peter Botcher has become adept at the style while making his mark by adding a pitch black sense of humor and goth gloom to his works (he even made his own tombstone out of LEGO). For his latest cottage, Peter impresses with use of color, especially the mossy brickwork and the splash of magenta vines against the black roof. He finds creative variations for the timber on the facade, including tail pieces and corner tiles. The model is titled “Nobody’s Home,” but the smoke coming from that spooky chimney, adorned with unholy accoutrements, suggests otherwise. Enter at your own risk!

Nobody's Home No. 2 1st pic

A deluxe hotel for the deluxe LEGO traveler

With tons of LEGO bricks in pastel colors and plenty of curved lines, Hotel Deluxe by Andrew Tate really packs a punch of brick built nostalgia. The business is alive with the hustle and bustle of so many minifigure travelers, carrying in their luggage, dining at the patio tables, snapping shots of the impressive façade, or even sunbathing on the roof. The round windows in light aqua have got to be my favorite touch here, forming what would be a quartet of rectangular windows into a circular portal through the use of some 6-wide arch pieces.

Hotel Deluxe

And if you’re looking for things to do while staying at the Hotel Deluxe, be sure to check out all the other amazing LEGO buildings by Andrew in our TBB archives.

Baseball bat building built from bricks!

We’ve got a LEGO build here from Jonah Schultz and I gotta say he’s knocked it out of the park! His microscale skyscraper is all about bats that were only available in a minifigure pack from 2018. The minifigure bats make up most of the outer structure of the skyscraper, but did you notice that the power-line poles are bats as well? The sneakiest use of the bat is for that tiny tanker truck. The building isn’t the only heavy hitter; That whole road network below the building is brick-built. The dashed lines between the lanes are made from brackets embedded deeper into the road. Back to the building, did you notice how those bats make a diamond shape? Can’t be an accident when this build is a home run!

Skyscraper Digital Designer

Luminous and ominous; the Numinous Isle!

When LEGO builders collaborate, great things are bound to happen. Micah Beideman, Eli Willsea, and Grant Davis have gotten together to build the mystical breakwater called the Numinous Isle. Let’s talk gold! At the very top of this build, you’ll find a few gold 4×4 wedges. Those pearl gold pieces were only available in two sets from 2013. Behind the gold sais and interlocked gold bar clips is the grand dome of the build. That dome is one half of the Star Wars planet Bespin from a set released in 2012. Take a look further down at that grey arch. Did you know that macaroni pieces fit into a large arch so neatly? I sure didn’t! Even lower down, there’s a pair of fins from an A-Wing masquerading as part of a wall. Check out that fountain too. It looks like the ingots fit just perfectly into that specific wheel. All of that beautiful building only takes us to the shoreline. What other secrets are hidden beneath the waves?

The Numinous Isle

A holiday home for beach-lovers

Architectural LEGO whizz Pan Noda is taking us to the seaside! There’s just one problem: their apartment is nowhere near the sea (I presume). So what to do? Bring the seaside to the apartment! Pan’s builds skirt that fine line between realistic and whimsical so well, and this is another fine example. At first glance it could just be a painted wall, but when you notice the sandcastle and the water on the floor, it makes you wonder if someone really did make a beach in their own digs. A touch of forced perspective with that excellent deckchair in the foreground really sells it as a surrealist artwork in its own right.

Beach Room

LEGO Caravanserai offers a treasure trove of techniques in tan

“Unwanted Company at the Caravanserai,” the latest diorama from Kit Nugent, is the rare LEGO build that is truly immersive, transporting the observer into a brick-built world. The craftsmanship is stunning. Working mostly with tan elements, Kit orchestrates every seam and shadow in service to the medieval Islamic architectural style. The interior facades are dense with detail, especially the screens made from over 200 densely-arranged candles, and the Modulex bricks that circle the lower walls.  The inner brick-work, revealed in the cut-away, is just as ornate, featuring a complex jigsawing of System bricks with a smattering of smaller Modulex. The glimpse of a nearby domed building under a blue sky seals the sense of immersion.

Unwanted Company at the Caravanserai

The architecture alone makes this a build to celebrate, but Kit is just as deliberate with the story told through minifigures and accessories.  He captures a frozen moment as travelers in the caravanserai trade look and reach for weapons as a shadowy figure enters. No doubt blood will soon be spilt on that lovely mosaic floor. Let’s just hope the goat is spared.

A toy-like tower showcases tremendous LEGO technique

Pan Noda has only been active sharing original LEGO creations for a few short years, but they’ve quickly cementented themselves as one of the most exciting builders around. Pan Noda’s creations are united by a love of texture, patterns, verticality and liminal spaces. Their latest work, simply titled “Castle of building blocks,” is an architectural wonder existing in limbo between earth and sky, childhood and sophistication. The red slope rooftops evoke a nostalgia for the earliest LEGO buildings, only these are weathered from age with a rash of studs popping out. The red door (taken from Isabelle’s House Visit) and poofy brick-built clouds evoke a safe Nintendo childhood, in contrast to the pokey brown technic frame (building on a technique from another of their vertical marvels) that almost says “Don’t touch!” Once again, Noda floors us with a towering achievement in LEGO artistry.

Castle of building blocks

LEGO with an ego the size of the sun!

This LEGO build by Panuvara drips confidence from every stud! Panuvara has used so many great ideas that make this build shine, that there really is too much neat parts usage in this build to talk about. So, I’m going to rapid fire a bunch at you! Starting with the golden neck-and-head-dress; those chameleons are floating – not connected by studs, and did you know that micro-statue heads fit inside bar holders? I didn’t. There’s also plenty of Bionicle influence: the top of the Emissary’s head is the infected Hau Nuva, while its teeth are borrowed from one of the Piraka. There’s also a head under the Emissary’s right knee. The mottled colors of the Hau match perfectly with the pattern of the macaw used for the Emissary’s nose. Let’s move on the the Emissary’s seat. The rounded rectangular patches with grills are rubber band holders, the bricks holding the projectile triggers are bumper holders, and there’s plenty of minifigure legs and hips for you to spot. Finally I’ll point out that the face carved into the centre of the stonework uses a dinosaur cub and a clone trooper visor as parts of its nose. There’s more to see here the longer you stare at it. But be careful: while you’re looking at it, the Emissary is watching you!

Solar Emissary

Grab a bite or a drink at Cafe CoCo

A new modular from Andrew Tate is always a treat as this master of minifig-scale architecture has a knack for builds that sweep you away to a specific time or place. His latest model, Cafe CoCo, captures the timeless and unhurried aesthetic of a European old town street corner that could just as easily be in Paris, Vienna, or Prague, fifty years ago or today. I can practically taste the Aperol spritz. The dark-stained wooden facade on the ground floor provides warmth and old-world charm against the tan stone building. Andrew packs the model with fun details and techniques, like the lamps held aloft on black hot dogs, or the pot snaking plants made from actual rattlesnakes. For the stone sidewalks, Andrew uses masonry bricks laid flat, a great technique that conveys the texture of paving stones without visual noise to distract from the scene above.

Cafe CoCo

Andrew “Snaillad” Tate says he builds at a snail’s pace, but over time he’s built an “>impressive body of LEGO creations that are always worth a revisit.

New LEGO sets for June 2024 now available for purchase [News]

Summer is upon us, and what better way to spend time cooling off than by building a LEGO set in the comfort of your home? This month, we see a continued resurgence of the much-loved Icons theme with the release of The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr and some highly anticipated new dinosaur molds from the Jurassic World theme like 76966 Dinosaur Missions: Allosaurus Transport Truck. Let’s take a look at some highlights releasing this month. For the best view of everything available, both old and new, be sure to visit the LEGO website (LEGO US | LEGO CAN | LEGO UK).

Continue to the highlights releasing this month!