Lego Architecture

Lego Architecture
Subthemes Landmark Series
Architect Series
Subject Buildings
Availability 2008–Present
Total sets 32 + 9 special editions
Official website

Lego Architecture is a sub-brand and product range of the Lego construction toy, which aims to “celebrate the past, present and future of architecture through the Lego Brick”.[1] The brand includes a series of Lego sets designed by ‘Architectural Artist’ Adam Reed Tucker, and each contain the pieces and instructions to build a model of a famous architectural building in micro-scale.

Development

Adam Reed Tucker earned a degree in architecture at Kansas State University in 1996.[2] Whilst there, he sought a method to join his two passions of art and architecture, and hit upon the idea of using Lego bricks. From this, he founded Brickstructures, Inc., and began to design and build models of famous landmarks. His work was noticed by the Lego Group, and together they formed a partnership to release some of his models as commercially available Lego sets under the Lego Architecture brand.

Sets

Sets in the product line contain a premium booklet, that – besides the build instructions – also include various information and pictures of the building itself.

By the beginning of 2010, six sets had been released in the range, under two 'series'. Within the 'Landmark Series' are models of the Sears Tower (21000), John Hancock Center (21001), the Empire State Building (21002), and the Seattle Space Needle (21003). Within the 'Architect Series' are models of the Guggenheim Museum (21004) and Fallingwater (21005).

In the beginning of July 2010, a seventh set, the White House (21006), was released. An eighth set (21007) was released in November 2010: New York's Rockefeller Center. The ninth set (21009), Farnsworth House (Plano, Illinois), was released in April 2011. A tenth set (21008), The Burj Khalifa, was released in June 2011. The Willis Tower (21000) was also released in 2011, this kit was a re-issue of the original Sears Tower kit; the only change was the printed tile to reflect the building's renaming.

An eleventh and twelfth set, the Robie House (21010) and the Brandenburg Gate (21011) were released in September 2011.[3][4]

In January 2012, it was announced that the next Architecture set would be 21012 Sydney Opera House. The set was released in March 2012.

In June 2012, Big Ben (21013) was released. In July 2012, the Namdaemun Gate (renamed Sungnyemun Gate) (21016) was released. In September 2012, the Villa Savoye (21014) was released. The Eames House (21015) was scheduled and then canceled, as it never came out as a set.

In June 2013, the Leaning Tower of Pisa (21015) was announced for the Lego Architecture series. Its set number (21015) replaced the original Eames House after it was canceled. United Nations Headquarters (21018) came out next. In October 2013, Marina Bay Sands and the Eiffel Tower were both announced.

Set Series Name Location Released Number of
pieces
Retired
product
Comments
21000 Landmark Sears Tower[5] United States Chicago 2008 69 Yes
Willis Tower 2011
21001 Landmark John Hancock Center United States Chicago 2008 69 Yes
21002 Landmark Empire State Building United States New York City 2009 77 Yes
21003 Landmark Seattle Space Needle United States Seattle 2009 57 Yes
21004 Architect Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum[6] United States New York City 2009 208 Yes
21005 Architect Fallingwater[6] United States Pittsburgh 2009 811 Yes
21006 Landmark The White House United States Washington, D.C. 2010 560 No
21007 Architect Rockefeller Center United States New York City 2011 240 Yes
21008 Landmark Burj Khalifa[7] United Arab Emirates Dubai 2011 208 Yes
21009 Architect Farnsworth House[8] United States Plano, Illinois 2011 546 Yes
21010 Architect Robie House[9] United States Chicago 2011 2276 Yes
21011 Landmark Brandenburg Gate Germany Berlin 2011 363 Yes
21012 Architect Sydney Opera House[10] Australia Sydney 2012 270 Yes
21013 Landmark Big Ben[11] United Kingdom London 2012 346 No
21014 Architect Villa Savoye[12] France Paris 2012 660 Yes
21015 Landmark Leaning Tower of Pisa Italy Pisa 2013 345 Yes
21016 Landmark Sungnyemun Gate[13] South Korea Seoul 2012 325 Yes
21017 Architect Imperial Hotel[14][15] Japan Tokyo 2013 1,188 Yes
21018 Landmark United Nations Headquarters[16] United States New York City 2013 597 Yes
21019 Landmark The Eiffel Tower[17] France Paris 2014 321 No
21020 Landmark The Trevi Fountain[18] Italy Rome 2014 731 No
21021 Landmark Marina Bay Sands Singapore Singapore 2014 602 Yes
21022 Landmark Lincoln Memorial[19] United States Washington, D.C. 2015 274 No
21023 Landmark Flatiron Building United States New York City 2015 471 No
21024 Architect Louvre France Paris 2015 695 No
21026 Skyline Venice Italy Venice 2016 212 No
21027 Skyline Berlin Germany Berlin 2016 289 No
21028 Skyline New York City United States New York 2016 598 No
21029 Buckingham Palace United Kingdom London 2016 No
21030 US Capitol United States Washington, D.C. 2016 No
21031 Landmark Burj Khalifa United Arab Emirates Dubai 2016 333 No
21050 Lego Architecture Studio[20] N/A 2013 1,210 No
Special editions
Set Name Location Released Number of
pieces
Retired product Comments Pictures
4000002 LOM Moulding Mexico Monterrey 2011 174 Given to employees
4000005 KOM Moulding Denmark Billund 2012 315 Given to employees Kornmarken Factory is the first and largest LEGO moulding and production factory
4000006 Kladno Campus Czech Republic Kladno 2012 250 Given to employees
4000009 HMV Production Denmark Billund 2013 285 Given to employees HMV is the name of the packing factory at LEGO Billund, which this set is based on.
4000010 LEGO House[21] Denmark Billund 2014 250 Only sold in Billund Lego House is the Brand new Lego House opening in Billund approx. 2017,
4000011 Nyiregyhaza Factory Hungary Nyiregyháza 2014 327 Given to employees Factory of Lego
4000015 LOM Moulding B Mexico Monterrey 2014 215 Additional packing building. A building, which expands the footprint of the existing facility
4000016 Billund Airport Denmark Billund 2014 281 Only sold at Billund Airport Billund Airport was made for the 50th anniversary of the Airport.
4000018 Kladno Campus Czech Republic Kladno 2015 412 Given to employees Kladno campus is the name of building C at the Czech Lego factory, which this set is based on

Impact

The product range has been reviewed favourably by many commentators. Journalist Jenny Williams said "The scale on these kits is pretty small, though, so don’t expect exquisite detail. But creating with Lego bricks is quite a fun way to pay homage to great architects".[22]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lego Architecture.

References

  1. "About Lego Architecture". Lego Group. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  2. "Brickstructures". Retrieved 29 December 2009.
  3. Official Announcement: 21010 Robie House, 13 July 2011
  4. Sarah Firsheinn (8 August 2011), Lego to Eternalize the Brandenburg Gate in Architecture Series, Curbed Network
  5. "Sears Tower now named Willis Tower". CNN. July 16, 2009
  6. 1 2 "Release of two Frank Lloyd Wright Collection sets from LEGO Architecture". Lego.com. May 9, 2009
  7. "The world’s tallest building in LEGO® bricks". Lego.com. May 25, 2011
  8. "Modernist architectural icon immortalised in LEGO® bricks". Lego.com. April 4, 2011
  9. "Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House Joins LEGO® Architecture series". Lego.com. September 19, 2011
  10. "Sydney’s revered opera house immortalized in LEGO® bricks". Lego.com. February 21, 2012
  11. "LEGO® Big Ben celebrates Victorian London’s greatest landmark". Lego.com. April 18, 2012
  12. "Le Corbusier’s French masterpiece becomes a LEGO® Architecture model". Lego.com. August 31, 2012
  13. "A Korean landmark recreated as LEGO® Architecture". Lego.com. May 14, 2012
  14. Imperial Hotel in Tokyo impresses with blend of old and new The Australian 7 November 2014
  15. "Revisit the Imperial Hotel with LEGO Architecture". Lego.com. March 1, 2013
  16. ". BrickExtra. May 15, 2013
  17. Lego Architecture: Der Eiffelturm – das ist Spitze Ukonio.de 14 Oktober 2014
  18. BREAKING: Trevi-fontein wordt volgende Lego Architecture set Madpac.nl 13 January 2014
  19. Série LEGO® Architecture incluirá o Lincoln Memorial e o Edifício Flatiron Archdaily.com
  20. ". Brickset. June 29, 2013
  21. Exclusive: 4000010 LEGO House Brickset.com 17 March 2014
  22. Jenny Williams (23 May 2009). "Frank Lloyd Wright + Lego = Awesome". Geekdad (Wired).
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