From designing small “unité d’habitation” for the inhabitants of their imaginary worlds to creating elaborate plans for entire cities, Lego has been entertaining homes around the world for decades, inspiring generations of architects and designers. Many remember it as long afternoons spent in their bedrooms, while others have never stopped practicing. In 2008, Lego introduced the Architecture series for them and later expanded it with the new Icons line, giving people the opportunity to build faithful replicas of some of the most iconic buildings and vehicles of our time with their own hands.
10 amazing examples of architecture and design going Lego
From the Unité to the Defender, from the Trevi Fountain to Pac-Man, and through the now unavailable Architecture Studio, we trace the extensive history of affinity between Lego, architecture, and design.
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- Nicolò Corigliano
- 21 March 2024
Lego’s colorful brick kits encompass a wide range of cult objects and pop culture symbols of modernity, celebrating different aspects of humanity – from contemporary icons to dream cars, from architecture to film. On the same shelf, you can find Mies van der Rohe’s designs next to a pirate galleon and the Concorde.
The journey began in Chicago, Illinois, in collaboration with architect and artist Adam Reed Tucker. The first Lego architecture sets included the Willis Tower and the John Hancock Center, followed by the Empire State Building in New York and the Space Needle in Seattle. In 2011, Lego set its sights higher, aiming to conquer the sky by commemorating a dizzying record set by Adrian Smith. The Architecture series ventured beyond American skyscrapers for the first time, with a full-scale replica of the Burj Khalifa made from 208 bricks. Today, the expert creator collections in architecture are complemented by the Skyline series, which debuted in 2019 and featured miniature versions of cities like Venice, Tokyo, and many more.
However, the intersection of Lego bricks and architecture predates the Lego Architecture series. As early as 1962, the Kristiansen-based company introduced the “750 Lego Architecture Hobby and Model Box” series of kits as part of its “Scale Model” line. This collection was designed for people interested in building their own houses. The kit included sheets of graph paper customized to fit each Lego piece, a cardboard ruler with four different scales, and bags of assorted bricks.
A significant moment in Lego’s love story with architecture came about half a century later with the introduction of the Lego Architecture Studio kit. This set included 1,200 bricks and a 272-page instruction manual. Unlike traditional sets with specific instructions, the Architecture Studio kit encouraged free experimentation and creativity, providing only a few examples of designs from renowned studios such as Rex, SOM, and Sou Fujimoto. It offered enthusiasts the opportunity to explore and build their own creations, known as MOCs (My Own Creations).
Finally, in 2022, Lego introduced Icons, a collection that brings together various sets aimed at an adult audience, including the Lego Technic, Lego Ideas, and Lego Architecture series. Lego “icons” faithfully recreates a wide range of vehicles, architectural landmarks and spaceships. From the sleek curves of the 911 Porsche to the intricate details of the Land Rover Defender kit. Whether it’s iconic landmarks, cinematic wonders, space exploration, pop culture icons, luxury cars or architectural marvels, Lego offers specific sets for adults who want to continue building their passions.
Lego Architecture Studio includes 1,210 white or transparent bricks and a 272-page instruction booklet for free-building. The set features several projects inspired by designs from firms such as Rex Architecture, Sou Fujimoto Architects, Som, Mad Architects, Tham & Videgård Arkitekter and Safdie.
Ken Parel-Sewell of One World Architecture used 2,100 bricks to build a MOC of Le Corbusier’s Unité d’Habitation. Completed in 1952, the Marseille building, also known as the Cité Radieuse, marked a new era in the architect’s approach to urban living. Notable features such as the promenade publique between the seventh and eighth floors and the surreal concrete landscape of the habitable roof are captured in this sculptural work, highlighting the modularity inherent in Lego’s design.
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House, a single-story structure with floor-to-ceiling glass walls, stands as one of the quintessential residences of 20th-century architecture. Completed in 1951 on the banks of the Fox River in Plano, Illinois, it quickly became an icon of the International Style. Its 25 cm wide, 546-piece Lego Architecture model was among the first released in the playset series, showcasing the house’s timeless design.
Featuring a cantilevered six-cylinder engine, air-cooling system, and a design that has remained virtually unchanged for nearly 60 years, the Porsche 911 stands as an iconic sports car that seamlessly blends elegance and speed. The Lego 10295 set pays homage to this Stuttgart-based manufacturer’s icon with 1,458 bricks, creating a playset that encompasses both the turbo version with its imposing rear wing and black rims, and the targa version characterized by its glass roof instead of a soft top and roll bar.
Lego artist Sean Kenney’s meticulous MOC accurately reproduces the structure designed by George Browne Post, now showcased alongside Andy Warhol’s version of The Birth of Venus in the NYSE art collection. Standing approximately three feet tall and made of 14,500 Lego blocks, it serves as an exact replica of the facade of “The Big Board” at 11 Wall Street.
In 2011, the Danish company commemorated the completion of the world’s tallest skyscraper with the Lego Architecture 21008 set. Consisting of 208 cylindrical Lego bricks, the set replicates the Burj Khalifa, which is inspired by the desert flower Hymenocallis and made of steel, glass and concrete. In 2016, an updated version (Lego Architecture 21031) was introduced, featuring an improved design with 333 bricks.
“WAKA WAKA WAKA” - The arcades and arcade booths of the early 1980s heralded the arrival of video games in public spaces. With its 4-way joystick, cathode ray tube screen and fluorescent graphics on the sides, you can now bring the nostalgia of that era back to life in your own home with the Lego Icons PAC-MAN Arcade – 10323 set. Capturing the essence of PAC-MAN and “big tubes” in brick form, this play set lets you relive the classic game as you navigate through the maze, gobbling up pac-dots, power-pellets, fruit and other objects while avoiding the colorful ghosts.
This Lego Architecture set includes 660 multicolored bricks representing the pilotis, roof garden, plan-libre, fenêtre en longueur, and free façade of the famous Villa Savoye, designed by Le Corbusier in the 1920s. The reproduction embodies the architect’s theoretical framework beyond the “five points” outlined in his 1923 manifesto Towards a New Architecture, considered the bible of modernism.
The Vespa 125 made its debut in 1948 with a load-bearing shell and an engine covered by a small hood. Enrico Piaggio’s post-war intuition to refocus industrial production on individual mobility proved successful, transforming the Vespa into an icon of affordable transportation. To celebrate the brand’s 75th anniversary, Lego designers collaborated with the Pontedera-based company to recreate the sleek lines of the Roman Holiday scooter.
“Marcello, come here!” These words are not spoken by actress Anita Ekberg, but by her minifigure as it dives into the 731 elements that make up the scale set of the Trevi Fountain. Designed by Nicola Salvi and completed by sculptor Pietro Bracci in 1762, the fountain is one of Rome’s Baroque icons. The Lego Architecture set includes intricate details such as the facade of Palazzo Poli, the statues of Ocean, Abundance and Health, and transparent bricks to recreate water. Part of the Lego Architecture Landmark series, the model was designed by artist Rok Žgalin Kobe in collaboration with the Lego design team.
The Aérospatiale-BAC Concorde, affectionately known as the Concorde, revolutionized air travel by allowing passengers to travel from London to New York in just 3 1/2 hours, boasting a distinctive variable nose and a cruise speed of Mach 2. Reproduced in Lego’s Icons series, the 10318 set contains 2,083 pieces.
Similar to the set dedicated to the Colosseum, the Billund company has created a scaled kit honoring one of the seven wonders of the world: the Taj Mahal mausoleum in Agra. This 5,923-piece model showcases numerous realistic details, including the crypt containing the tombs of Mumtaz and Shah Jahan, the central chamber with two cenotaphs, monumental iwans, the main dome, four chhatri, and four towering minarets. A special brick engraved with “Taj Mahal” adds the finishing touch to the model.
True to the original 1984 model, this sand-green SUV with a white roof, black wheel covers, and a brown interior embodies the spirit of four-wheel adventure. The 2,336-piece set includes all the accessories necessary for an expedition, such as a roof rack, snorkel, front bumper with a functional winch, traction plates for navigating mud and sand, and a tool kit.