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.

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.

Beach Resort

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.

Opera and Museum (LEGO Architecture Project)

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.

Kampung House.

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.

Kampung House.

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.

Sunset View

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!

Greenhouse

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.

Johnny Thunder takes on the highest peak

I’m a 90’s kid. Early 2000s LEGO shaped my childhood, with Bionicle, Racers, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. However, one theme was grounded enough to offer a haven from all the crazy. Orient Expedition was the short-lived sequel/reboot to the popular Adventurers theme from the late 1990s. The theme follows Johnny Thunder and his team of explorers in seeking the lost treasure of Marco Polo. Similarly, Lord Sam Sinister also sought the treasure, but chose to try and steal it instead finding it on his own. GunnBuilding reimagines the 7417 Temple of Mount Everest playset, where the heroes and villains have a showdown on top of the world’s tallest peak.

7417: Temple of Mount Everest

Click to see more of this homage to Orient Expedition

Not your average farmer’s market

No matter what day of the week it is, it’s always nice to go to the local farmer’s market. Not only are the food and goods top-notch, they also have a nice atmosphere. Not unlike Andrew Tate‘s village grocer, which has a charming house rather than tents and food stalls. No doubt the fruits and vegetables sold outside in crates are locally grown, given the small-town feel of the build. The ground floor has a small convenience shop, and the rest of the house must be where the owners live.

Village Grocers

Andrew pays homage to a more famous LEGO grocer, a popular Modular Building set from 2008. The green and tan awning is similarly to the blue and white awning of the LEGO set, and both share the same white Fabuland lamp-posts. Andrew also references LEGO’s Winter Village series with this village grocer’s alpine architecture. It fits right in there, minus the cold and snow. Come to think of it, what’s Winter Village like when it’s not winter?

Domes for days in Agrabah

Architecture is great subject matter for micro-scale LEGO models, Jannis Mavrostomos demonstrates this with his brick-built eastern styled mini city reminiscent of Agrabah from the Aladdin films.

Mavrostomos’s tiny city utilizes many commonly found elements, including tiles, 1×2 grilles, 1×1 studs, 1×1 cones, and other small pieces mostly in a tan and reddish-brown color scheme with some green and pearl gold elements. Mavrostomos also cleverly uses some more specialized elements such as the cauldron pieces as well as the ice cream cone with swirl element to render domes and part of a minaret tower. There is even a tan pair of short minfigure legs which serve as a building. Overall, this build is certainly a nice assemblage of small pieces forming a much bigger picture.

Germany’s famous Aachen Cathedral in LEGO microscale

When construction began on the Aachen Cathedral around 796, its builders could hardly have imagined that someday it would be translated into a miniature LEGO version. But Jochen Haas done a beautiful job translating the final resting place of Charlemagne into bricks. When I first saw the large dome in the middle, I thought Jochen’s technique of using a series of curved slopes at intervals was an interesting effect, but left it with an unfortunate ribbed look. But apparently I’d forgotten what the real cathedral looks like, because a little quick research shows that the real dome is actually ribbed as well. In fact, the whole model feels as though it could be an official LEGO Architecture set–and if you want to build this one yourself, for once you’re in luck, because Jochen has actually created free instructions, though you’ll need to provide the parts yourself.

Aachen cathedral

I’ll take mine on the rocks, please

There are some LEGO builders that I would just love to hate, since they seem to be living the perfect LEGO life, and Markus Rollbühler would be at the top of my list; he’s one of the most talented builders out there with about a billion social followers, he has an enormous and perfectly organized collection, and he even works as a set designer for LEGO, the (pipe) dream job of every aspiring LEGO talent. But Markus is impossible to hate, because he is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet, super humble, always offering advice and help when asked, and available to even the most rookie builder. How could I hate a guy like that? I can’t. Instead, I admit that he’s one of my personal favorite builders, regardless of what genre he tries his hand at. In this case, it is a delightful little lighthouse.

Coastal Guardian

Markus shows of his skills by building a compactly small round tower out of tiles, pairing that with a ramshackle hut with a teal roof (got to love teal, right?). Markus is famous for his cheese slope roofs, and really his ability to make a roof out of virtually any piece (see Ninjago City Gardens, a set he designed, if you doubt the truth of the statement). He is also well known for his foliage, and this tree made from yellow feathers does not disappoint. The color scheme is just about perfect, as is the composition, and the building techniques are on point…in short, it’s enough to make one green (or even teal) with envy, except that the builder is just too darn nice.