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.

Istanbul’s Blue Mosque looks magnificent in LEGO microscale

Completed in 1617, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, commonly known as the Blue Mosque, is one of Istanbul’s most iconic structures and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Scott Wilhelm gives this masterpiece of Ottoman architecture the LEGO microscale treatment in a sprawling build that includes Sultan Ahmet’s mausoleum, gardens, and a madrasa. For the mosque’s six minarets, Scott uses white Technic axle extenders broken up by bevel gears and bushes topped with a drill bit. The many small domes are represented with knit caps. If you’re wondering why the mosque rooftops are grey when it’s called the Blue Mosque, the nickname comes from the decorative tiles inside.

Sultanahmet Camii, Istanbul, Türkiye: Front 3/4

Continue for additional photos of Scott’s magnificent miniature mosque

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Double-decker Ponte de Dom Luís I bridge is a massive microscale achievement

With two decks built above and below its iron arch, Portugal’s Dom Luís I Bridge is a beautiful testament to late 19th-century engineering. Inspired by this double-deck marvel, civil engineering student and LEGO architecture fan Sébastien Houyoux took to Studio to painstakingly recreate the bridge and the the buildings of Porto and Gaia built in its shadow.

LEGO Microscale - Dom Luis I bridge, Portugal

The model stretches 1.3 meters and is made up of 13,000 elements. The builder designed a 1/650 scale version of the bridge two years ago, but for this updated take, Sébastien doubles the detail with a scale of 1/325.

LEGO Microscale - Dom Luis I bridge, Portugal

Y’ell take the high road and I’ll take the low road and we’ll get a better look at this amazing double decker bridge!

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This futuristic microscale LEGO city runs rings around modern cities

Building a circular model using LEGO is a challenge in itself, but Plastic Pauper took on that challenge and built a microscale city with not just one ring, but three, creating nested neighborhoods that all have a specific purpose and vibe. The outer ring looks industrial, with smokestacks, factories, and other gray structures. The middle ring is composed of many smaller buildings and greenery, while the central section sports tall, sterile, and modern structures fit for the city’s wealthy elite. And what futuristic city would be complete without flying cars?

Triplering City

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Drive back to the future at this space age auto showroom

Today’s cutting-edge cars can chop carrots, spontaneously combust, or embroil you in a culture war, but there was a time when the American automobile symbolized a big bright, beautiful tomorrow, and the showrooms for these atomic-age chariots were cathedrals of cinder blocks and glass. Architectural builder Andrew Tate takes us back to that swingin’ chapter of Americana in LEGO with the glorious Lunar Motors showroom. Andrew captures the playful geometric style of the era with the angular profile and the dramatic inclined window. I especially love the perforated facade on the sides of the entrance. Andrew demonstrates his usual flair for brick-built lettering on the sign.

Lunar Motors

Andrew’s showroom includes a fully detailed interior with lovely wood paneling, patterned walls, midcentury furniture, and a sleek ’60s roadster. I can practically smell the future.

Lunar Motors

Andrew is no stranger to Atomic Age architecture. We also loved his striking bowling alley and swell airport lobby.

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Drawing on Italian architecture for a LEGO fantasy vignette

The Free City of Andérida is entirely fictional, but depicted here in LEGO, there’s such a rich sense of history that you’d be forgiven for mistaking it for a real town. Builder Vertaro takes inspiration from Venice and Lombard architecture, with classical columns and decorated stone walls. The terra cotta rooftops and sun-bleached stone strongly evoke old Italy. Arches in low relief lend the walls a sense of heightened craftsmanship. My favorite technique is the roof decorations made from clipping heart-shaped tiles in an undulating row, but the marble fountain decorated with frogs and minifig hands is also a showstopper.

An Old Friend in Andérida | AotU RPG

Vertaro built this scene of Aurelio’s reunion for the Age of the Unseated LEGO role-playing game, a collaborative storytelling experience told through LEGO creations. The builder tells the story of this scene here. This low-magic fantasy setting isn’t the only role-playing sandbox Vertaro builds in – we also highlighted the builder’s contribution to Star Wars Factions RPG.

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New LEGO sets for March 2025 now available for purchase [News]

March is here, and with it comes a brand new wave of LEGO sets. While there’s a ton of sets that just hit store shelves across the board, we’ve got some common threads with Formula 1 builds appearing in the Speed Champions, Technic, and LEGO Icons themes. And don’t forget the debut of LEGO Ninjago 71837 NINJAGO City Workshops, the latest in the multi-year Ninjago City collection. We touch on all our favorites below, but if you want to see everything in the new catalog, head on over to the LEGO website (US | CAN | UK).

Check out our favorite sets in the March wave below!

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Something wicked stirs beneath the spires

In a building system founded on right angles, stringing together a bunch of LEGO macaroni tubes is anarchistically delightful. The snaking black tubes in the ruins of An-za-kàr Uru Dingir from Mattia Careddu, however, are downright sinister. I love how the layered ruins evoke organic anatomy, with fleshy tan bricks curved around a bony white core. What did this once-great city look like in its prime, I wonder? The model is a rare example of architecture from a builder best known for their weird and wonderful character builds, and an exciting direction from one of our favorite builders of 2024.

An-za-kàr Uru Dingir

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This LEGO version of the Tietgen Residence Hall will have you doing circles

Let’s travel to the Ørestad district of Copenhagen, Denmark, 135 miles (217 km) to the east of LEGO HQ. There you can find the Tietgenkollegiet, a building designed as an ideal student residence. Its boxy rooms are arranged in a toroid, with greenspace in the center. LEGO Masters Denmark finalist Esben Kolind gives this architectural wonder the LEGO treatment in his latest model, and boy does he succeed! The cubic nature of the rooms translates well into brick, while more clever techniques are employed to curve the building through all 360 degrees.

LEGO Tietgenkollegiet

While Esben has many more shots on his Flickr page worth checking out, I did want to also feature the top-down view. It really displays the spectacular geometry he’s able to pull off in this creation.

LEGO Tietgenkollegiet

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LEGO Architecture 21062 Trevi Fountain: No half (stud) measures [Review]

Can you believe LEGO’s Architecture theme has been going for 17 years now? That would make it old enough to get a driving license in the UK! It’s testament to the diversity of the theme that in all those years, you can count the number of buildings to receive repeat sets on one hand. We can add another finger to that hand now, as 21062 Trevi Fountain re-visits one of Rome’s most famous landmarks. The first iteration of this set – 21020 – included 731 parts, but that number has now ballooned to 1,880 pieces in the 2025 version. It will release March 1st, but you can pre-order it from LEGO’s website now for US $159.99 | CAN $209.99 | UK £139.99. You may also be able to pick it up from eBay or Amazon, once it has released.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

When in Rome… Read our review to visit the Trevi Fountain!

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What’s that? A LEGO wat!

Aside from a handful of Raya and the Last Dragon sets, LEGO has never explored traditional South-East Asian architecture in official sets, which is a shame, as you can see from this minifig-scale Thai wat built by Brigitte Jonsgard.  Brigitte perfectly captures the steep, tiered roof with ornate chofa jutting out like horns. Snaking dragons along the stairs welcome guests into the temple. Birgitte shares a video of the full buddhist complex, with wat and stupa, over on flickr.

Birgitte has a talent for ornate houses of worship. This stave church from her native Norway is one of the most striking LEGO churches I’ve ever seen.

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Surely you jest?

Wherever there’s a medieval LEGO city – like this amazing build by Jaka Kupina – there’s a jumble of joyful jumping jesters to entertain the townsfolk. I hope that blacksmith isn’t disrupting the show, but if his hammering is steady enough, the minstrels may be able to incorporate it into their song. The guards may not have a great view of the festivities, but look at how big their roof is! As Shrek would say; “do you think they’re compensating for something?”

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Nothing but praise for this LEGO church

Capturing the spirit of the subject, conveying detail at scale, and cleverly using parts are the holy trinity of a LEGO microscale builder’s goals. Builder Christian Rau scores the trifecta with this remarkably faithful LEGO model of the Jesuit Church in Lucerne, Switzerland. While the actual church took over a decade to construct, Christian finished much quicker, using parts from across many decades of LEGO history – notably the 1x1x2 windows introduced in 1956, and the versatile 1×2 inverted arch which are less than three years old. Offset building techniques throughout the model are especially effective in illuminating the towers’ shapely onion-tops (which are also square in real life!) and spot-on color choices harken the building’s characteristic façade.

St. Franz Xaver - Luzern

The building I work in started life as a Romanesque Revival style church, and I frequently imagine modeling it in LEGO. Perhaps I will take a page or two from the book of Christian’s techniques…

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