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.

The Hagia Sophia is a monument to the ages

This microscale LEGO rendition of Istanbul’s most famous landmark has been masterfully created by George Panteleon. The tan and dark tan elements blend seamlessly together to create the sweeping curves and rounded roofs of the 1,500-year-old building. The huge dome, which encloses a ceiling height of 182 feet, is created from the planet hemisphere element for Bespin. George has rigged the interior with lights, allowing the model to glow warmly, and added a lovely wood base. It all comes together as a wonderful display piece.

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Meeting at the crossroads

A chance encounter at a crossroad tavern often leads to adventure. This LEGO inn built by Sebastian Bachórzewski taps into this spirit, looking every bit as if it could have been drawn straight from the pages of a fantasy epic. Rough and ready in appearance, with great building techniques used to offset the stone structured base from its wattle and daub upper floors; it’s the sort of spot you’d expect to meet a shadowy stranger. Who are those drunken soldiers looking for? Who might be hidden under those inventively built technic pin wheat sheafs? It’s one of those great builds that segues seamlessly into the art of storytelling.

A beautiful LEGO baroque cathedral emerges out of nowhere

Every now and again, a mysterious builder pops up, presenting amazing creations, often with little to no additional information in tags, groups or descriptions. Italian builder Giacinto Consiglio is one of such examples, as his Flickr photostream is a hidden gem that was just waiting to be discovered. The builder has been around for many months, mostly focusing on modular buildings. His latest creation is a bit of a deviation from that style, but some of Giacinto’s skills from modular buildings have translated into classical architecture very well.

What will probably be the first thing to impress most people is the grand scale, with its base measuring 96 studs in length and width. It is built in minifig scale, but is not a recreation of any particular cathedral.

Discover the secrets of the Aslanic Temple

Swedish model builder Jonas “Gideon” Wide is known around these parts for his highly detailed, highly dynamic LEGO cityscapes. His latest creation, a shrine to the Order of Aslan, might be based in a fictional world but the details in and around the building make it feel incredibly real.

This creation is well worth scrutinizing. I found tidbits to love all over the place, like the worker applying fresh plaster to the outside of the building, and the best use of the Imperial pilot helmet I’ve seen this side of a Star Wars advent calendar!

If this feels similar to some of Jonas’ previous work, you’d be correct. We’ve featured his Streets of Barqa and siege workshop model and this new Temple is in the same fictional city.

Conducting research on modular science

Everybody loves modular buildings! Whether it is original sets or fan creations, modulars just seem to connect with people, Łukasz Libuszewski included, judging by his recent build called Victor’s Lab. The building is made in a Victorian style that fits well with many official LEGO modular sets like the Parisian Restaurant 10243 on the right side and Łukasz’s older original creation on the — Old Town Pub.

I love the little “LODDI” logo above the door of a clothes shop and the angled wall in the corner, nicely finished off by slopes around the door. Elegant is the keyword here, with window ornaments and a steeply sloped roof that screams “classy!” If you want to see just how good Łukasz is, check out the concept art (which is beautiful in its own right) after which Victor’s Lab is modeled.

The One Ring to rule them all – the “spaceship” at Apple Park in LEGO

All devout Apple adherents must make a pilgrimage to the One Ring located at 1 Apple Park Way. In many ways the draw that the one ring had towards Bilbo and Frodo is quite similar to Apple loyalty and magnetic magic of desire when a new iPhone hits the stores. This LEGO model of the Apple Park may look quite simple, but it’s quite a feat in terms of scale and detail. Spencer R made references from early drone videos and whatever he could get his hands on.

See more photos and details of the Apple campus in LEGO

The perfect recipe for a delicious LEGO bakery

Markus Rollbühler whipped up some wholesome LEGO goodness in the form of this fabulous classic bakery. Markus put a lot of thought into the ingredients that went into his build, with an excellent use of parts throughout the model. Both parts of the LEGO treasure chest are used to form portions of wooden beams, book binding elements are used to form windowsills, and the sprue from the new minifig wand accessory is cleverly used to form the body of a candelabra. Keeping up with the bakery theme, Markus even managed to use pretzels for windows and the honey-laced beehive to form the top of the conical shaped roof. There are plenty of other awesome details to spot. What are some of your favorite techniques on display here?

Aiwan Ting Pavilion is eye-pleasing, both inside and out

When it comes to building historic Chinese architecture from LEGO bricks, it can prove challenging to capture the sweeping curves of rooftops and ornate details. While we’ve seen builders employ a variety of techniques for this, with his model of the Aiwan Ting Pavilion, Chinese builder Smoker Nie has managed to pull off both the shape and the details in an especially eye-pleasing manner. Aiwan Pavilion is located on Mount Yuelu in the Chinese province of Hunan.

Smoker’s building is an excellent likeness, both inside and out. According to the builder, 12350 LEGO bricks were used in its construction.

Click to see more of this LEGO Aiwan Pavilion

Do you live to eat, or eat to live?

In modern times, “eating good food” has become a hobby of sorts around the world. There are hotspots for foodies to relish in simple and local food sold on the streets or pushcarts, just like this huge LEGO scene from Malaysia depicting such a location, where food lovers hang out and where a few dollars can go a long long way.

This build is a collaborative effort by members of SynergyLUG Malaysia, led by Bruce Lee, along with a large team which includes Junious Tan, Chua Chee Yan, Marco Gan, Tommy Tong, Michael Choy, Zi Quan, Foo Wen Yao, Leroy Pang, Vincent Kiew, Cheng Heng Ching, Wong Chee Keong, Zac Wong, Daphne Gan, Jack Tan and Terry Lai.

Click to see more of the Avenue 4 Street scene

Come see this Victorian city block, love

Welcome back to The Brothers Brick, Łukasz Libuszewski, and thank YOU for welcoming us back into your magical miniature world. This time Łukasz has plunged us straight back into the Victorian era with a modular-style street mashup that would fit right at home with LEGO’s own Creator Expert series…if it time traveled about 150 years.

There are details here for even expert-level builders to appreciate. Look at how the repetitive use of common clips, rails, and minifig utensils add dimension around window and door frames; there are very few flat surfaces to be found. The most mind-blowing parts usage for me was the side by side white modified 1×2 tile w/ handles used in the middle building’s windows.

What also really impressed me when checking out this model is that Łukasz drew his envisioned city block back in May before bringing the model to the real world for us to enjoy.

Łukasz has been featured on TBB a handful of times, notably for his gorgeous cars and modular-style work. A particular favorite of mine was his city Bike Shop.

Maersk Pier is a majestic port that is sure to marvel all

LEGO and storytelling are a match made in heaven. As much as I enjoy building for the sake of building, I also enjoy LEGO as a medium for producing a narrative. Markus Ronge had me hooked last month when he shared a teaser poster for an upcoming series of story-driven steampunk builds. A few days ago, Marcus revealed the first part of his conceptualized world in the form of Maersk Pier, owned and operated by fourth-generation shipping mogul, Herman van de Maersk.

Bored with the shipping industry, Herman decided to build this majestic port to serve luxury airships and their wealthy clientele. As a steampunk model, Maersk Pier is breathtakingly beautiful and does a great job of blending Victorian-style architecture with steampunk fantasy. The extensive use of white works well and reminds me of marble, which witnessed a resurgence in use as a building material during the 19th Century Greek Revival period. Speaking of history, the model’s name is a clever nod to LEGO’s lengthy relationship with the Maersk shipping company, which has included a number of Maersk co-branded LEGO sets over the years.

See lots more photos of this amazing LEGO steampunk diorama

Welcome to a temple with a “killer” view

No matter how strange or limiting a LEGO part may appear to be, there is no such thing as a useless piece. With a little thinking outside the box, it’s sometimes surprising what you’re able to accomplish. Case in point, David Zambito’s microscale “Temple of Tarrasque” takes the LEGO Batman Movie’s Killer Croc minifigure and literally turns him on his side. Killer Croc’s body has been cleverly placed within the model to form a major portion of the mountainside, and the figure’s printed dark green spots are reminiscent of shrubbery. It accentuates an already beautiful landscape filled with a variety of fun angles, and the tiny temple is equally impressive.