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.

Jazz to your next trip to the bank

This latest creation by Andrew Tate brings some 1920s style to a staple modular of any LEGO city. Standing at four stories tall and topped with a clock tower, Andrew’s Art Deco bank has both the perfect color scheme and expertly designed architectural details. The light bluish gray concrete facade flaunts a variety of textures and geometric patterns, ranging from your standard 1×2 grille and log bricks to 1×1 pyramids and angled tiles. The use of SNOT with tiles achieves a sturdy look fit for a bank, while techniques like the slightly offset dark green cheese slope detailing and gold accents around the windows break that monotony.

Click here to see get a closer look at the details of this Art Deco beauty

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It was a lovely day in paradise, but it was about to go horribly wrong

If you live in the oasis city of Kaligem, safe behind the sturdy walls, nestled among white towers and golden spires you might count yourself fortunate. But your good fortune is coming to a swift end in this scene by Andreas Lenander which depicts the final moments of a city that has brought down the wrath of the gods in the form of a giant wall of sand that would give the Coriolis storms of Arrakis a run for its money.

I hate sleeping in hotels!

I’ve met a few people who prefer staying at hotels to being in their own house and bed, but they seem to be a strange minority. I mean, who really wants to sleep in a bed where the night before some strangers did something not fit to be described in an upright publication, rather than their own comfortable and familiar bed back home? Eww! Anyways, my own stays at hotels have never been as bad as the terrified LEGO minifigure’s night in this build by Jarek Książczyk. If I saw an eerily-lit giant hand outside the window of my Marriott room, I’d be huddled on the bed, too.

Jarek has captured everything one would expect to see in a hotel room, down to the horrid vertically striped beige wall paper, but then you see that there’s a piano in the corner. What hotel has a piano in the rooms? None that I know of. So perhaps this isn’t a hotel after all, but the minifigure’s own comfortable and familiar bed…in which case I might go stay in a hotel. Even soiled bed linens would be better than that hand. Then again, maybe it was just a nightmare. Things do look much brighter in the morning light.

A miniature modernist maze

Monochrome geometric shapes descending into infinity – this is the only way to describe Simon Liu’s amazing “Hexahedral” LEGO model which can also be referred to as “Cube City”. Surely it is an interesting architectural concept, the model itself reminds me of drawings done by M.C. Escher, with all of its interesting perspectives, spaces, nooks and crannies.

The visible city portion of the build is divided into cubicle-like zones each containing various buildings and houses, these are mostly rendered using 1×1 modified headlight bricks topped with either a double or pyramid 1×1 slope – all in light grey. Various other small pieces including a ton of 1×1 tiles, ingots, 1×2 grilles, levers, and other modified 1×1 pieces are included to create intricate designs and spaces within the cubicle zones. Any area that has not been carved into this slab of stone-colored brick is plated with 1×1 tiles in a minesweeper-like grid. This build is just wonderful to look at especially with the visual contrast Simon creates between empty space and grey plastic.

The city of Midgar…before the Mako disaster

As dystopias go, Midgar from the cult-classic game Final Fantasy VII has to be as dystopian as it gets – a Pangea of slums surrounding a giant reactor sucking out the planet’s lifeblood and to top that off, it always seems to be night in this location. Fletcher Floyd conjures up an amazing micro-scale LEGO build of the most iconic setting in the widely loved game.

In a circular pattern, Floyd assembles a menagerie of smaller light grey elements to construct the metropolis. Literally any grey LEGO piece you can think of is included in this build – from 1×1 cones and cylinders, to lightsaber hilts and binoculars, even chalices and steering wheels help render the industrial mess that is Midgar. The area surrounding the city is rendered with some tiles and mostly 1×1 plates in earth tones such as tan, reddish brown, and light brown. Overall this build perfectly recreates the look and feel of Midgar in miniature.

LEGO Architecture 21056 Taj Mahal: third time’s a charm [Review]

Here at TBB, we all were caught by surprise when the Taj Mahal showed up in the review box last week. This jewel of Muslim architecture had been previously depicted in LEGO form back in 2008 (10189) and in 2017 as a rerelease (10256 Taj Mahal, read our review). The newest rendition of the Taj Mahal is scaled down in size, so how does it compare to what was once the second-largest LEGO set of all time? 21056 Taj Mahal has 2,022 pieces and will retail for US $119.99 | CAN $169.99 | UK £89.99. It will be available June 1 in Europe and the rest of the world, and will be available from August 1 in the Americas. Read our hands-on review to learn more.

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.

Read our full, hands-on review

New LEGO Creator Expert & Architecture sets coming: 10289 Bird of Paradise & 21056 Taj Mahal [News]

Today we are revealing two new adult-focused sets from LEGO in the Creator Expert and Architecture themes, 10289 Bird of Paradise and 21056 Taj Mahal. The Bird of Paradise set will be part of the ongoing Botanical Collection following 10280 Flower Bouquet and 10281 Bonsai Tree. Meanwhile, the Taj Mahal will revisit the famous Indian monument in a smaller scale than the former Creator Expert version, 10256 Taj Mahal. In an unusual move, LEGO has not planned a press release for these sets, but we have the sets in hand for upcoming reviews, so be sure to watch for our full, hands-on reviews of these sets very soon. 10289 Bird of Paradise has 1,173 pieces and will retail for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99, while 21056 Taj Mahal features 2,022 pieces and will come in at US $119.99 | CAN $169.99 | UK £89.99. Both sets will be available starting June 1 in Europe and the rest of the world, but won’t be available until August 1 in the Americas.

Click to see more of these sets

Beachfront property worth building

Aloha, maybe? Wherever this is, I want to go there right now and forget that there are travel restrictions in place. The Beach Resort from builder Luis Peña is everything I could want in a tropical getaway.

Not only is this clearly an oceanside resort, but it’s also a really fancy one at that. The light blue transparent bricks are a crisp, clean contrast to the white on the buildings, giving them a very expensive look. The choice to make each structure different was a good one, with the triangle building and the curvy building having a five-star hotel vibe. The beach huts are just fantastic. They’re made with few pieces but you still know exactly what they are!

I could see myself lying under the tiny palm trees, but there’s a pandemic going on so I’ll have to wait until next year.

An artistic stretch of buildings dedicated to the arts

Microscale buildings can be a challenge to design, but Luis Peña knows just how to make them sizzle. Inspired by the architectural work of Santiago Calatrava and Oscar Niemeyer, the custom buildings in Opera and Museum are filled with unusual elements and a ton of class. My favorite touches are the Mysterio Helmet orb/sculpture, and the Web-effect railings on the bridge. The curves from the balloon panels create a great sense of motion for the scene, too.

If tiny buildings are your thing, take a stroll through our archives for even more compact goodness.

Whisk us away to the world of Malay

Sometimes a builder waits years for just the right LEGO pieces and colors to come out. That’s exactly what Vincent Kiew did in planning this lovely Kampung House. It took a while for LEGO to produce just the right pieces in dark brown and reddish-brown. The colors are alternated nicely here to replicate the indigenous craftsmanship used in these traditional dwellings. The stilts, shutters, even the intricate roof are all spot on. The chickens, the cat, the cow, even the cart full of vegetables help convey a feeling of relaxation and tranquility. I imagine the home would offer a cool reprise from the Malaysian heat. Vincent tells us this creation was based on a particular village house on Penang island. He also states that being a city-dweller growing up in Kuala Lumpur, he has not had the chance to stay in a Kampung House but his wife had when she was a child. She shared stories of her childhood with him as he worked on this project.

This photo gives us a better glimpse of Vincent’s attention to detail. I’m loving the shutters, woodpile, as well as chickens languishing in the shade.

Vincent closes out his write-up with a question; “does this creation remind you of your sweet childhood, too?” I imagine for our readers from the Malay Peninsula it might. As I was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, it doesn’t. In order to envision my childhood, you’d have to imagine cramped three-story walk-up apartments and simple Shaker-style New England homes. But still, we deeply appreciate you sharing your architectural sentiments from your part of the world.

Sittin’ on the porch, enjoyin’ the view

Just this evening, after we finished our dinners, my kids, wife, and I sat out on our front porch enjoying the warm, sunny weather while eating our popsicles for dessert. It was quite the treat to sit there, watching the world go by, barefoot on a rocking chair. The way I felt while sitting there is the same way I feel looking at this LEGO scene by Elias Hübner. There’s the warm light of the setting sun, the verdant green of the lawn and garden, and reminders of yard work that still needs to be done. Sure, my own garden is not as green as this one, and none of my flowers have bloomed, and I haven’t had to mow yet. But the mood is there. And it is pure summer bliss.

This is Elias’s latest build for the Iron Builder competition. The seed part this round is the obscure “Large Figure Part Shield Holder with Axle” in blue, used in many ways throughout the build, from chair cushions to a birdhouse, as well as lawn mower bits and flowers and exterior lamps. But my favorite use is definitely that watering can. Just perfect!

Not just your garden greenhouse

If you’ve never been to a botanical garden, you should go. As a kid, the first one I ever visited was the Butchart Gardens in British Columbia, Canada. I recall feeling like I had entered a wonderland. And as I saw the greenhouses, I realized I would never look at them the same way again. Since then, of course, I have been exposed to many large gardens and massive greenhouses, but I’ll never forget the beginning. This LEGO build by Kris Kelvin (Montgomery Burns) reminds me of that experience. It may be mostly veggies as opposed to flowers, but those big greenhouses sure are striking!

The huge display is filled with nice element usage, especially through the implementation of minifigure parts and accessories. There are also a couple of fun touches for those keen to investigate closely. Although it’s not a new technique, I’m personally fond of the fence design. Apparently, this will be part of an even larger diorama, which we can’t wait to see in its entirety! In the meantime, check out some of this builder’s other excellent work.