Lego Architecture
Sub‑themes | Landmark series Architect series |
---|---|
Subject | Buildings |
Licensed from | The Lego Group |
Availability | 2008–present |
Total sets | 66[1] |
Official website |
Lego Architecture is a Lego theme, which aims to “celebrate the past, present and future of architecture through the Lego Brick”.[2] 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.[3] While 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.
Architecture sets
According to Bricklink, The Lego Group released 64 playsets as part of the Lego Architecture theme.[1]
Sets in the product line contain a premium booklet, that – besides the build instructions – also includes various information and pictures of the building itself.
By the beginning of 2009, 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 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.[4][5]
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) and Glass House were 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 |
Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
21000 | Landmark | Sears Tower[6] | Chicago | 2008 | 69 | Yes 2014 | |
Willis Tower | 2011 | ||||||
21001 | Landmark | John Hancock Center | Chicago | 2008 | 69 | Yes 2012 | |
21002 | Landmark | Empire State Building | New York City | 2009 | 77 | Yes 2015 | |
21003 | Landmark | Space Needle | Seattle | 2009 | 57 | Yes 2016 | |
21004 | Architect | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum[7] | New York City | 2009 | 208 | Yes 2014 | |
21005 | Architect | Fallingwater[7] | Mill Run, Pennsylvania | 2009 | 811 | Yes 2015 | |
21006 | Architect | The White House | Washington, D.C. | 2010 | 560 | Yes 2017 | |
21007 | Architect | Rockefeller Center | New York City | 2011 | 240 | Yes 2014 | |
21008 | Landmark | Burj Khalifa[8] | Dubai | 2011 | 208 | Yes 2014 | |
21009 | Architect | Farnsworth House[9] | Plano, Illinois | 2011 | 546 | Yes 2015 | |
21010 | Architect | Robie House[10] | Chicago | 2011 | 2,276 | Yes 2014 | |
21011 | Landmark | Brandenburg Gate | Berlin | 2011 | 363 | Yes 2016 | |
21012 | Architect | Sydney Opera House[11] | Sydney | 2012 | 270 | Yes 2015 | |
21013 | Landmark | Big Ben[12] | London | 2012 | 346 | Yes 2017 | |
21014 | Architect | Villa Savoye[13] | Paris | 2012 | 660 | Yes 2016 | |
21015 | Landmark | The Leaning Tower of Pisa | Pisa | 2013 | 345 | Yes 2016 | |
21016 | Landmark | Sungnyemun[14] | Seoul | 2012 | 325 | Yes 2014 | |
21017 | Architect | Imperial Hotel[15] | Tokyo | 2013 | 1,188 | Yes 2016 | |
21018 | Landmark | United Nations Headquarters[16] | New York City | 2013 | 597 | Yes 2016 | |
21019 | Landmark | The Eiffel Tower[17] | Paris | 2014 | 321 | Yes 2019 | |
21020 | Landmark | Trevi Fountain[18] | Rome | 2014 | 731 | Yes 2017 | |
21021 (limited edition) | Landmark | Marina Bay Sands | Singapore | 2014 | 602 | Yes 2016 | |
21022 | Landmark | Lincoln Memorial[19] | Washington, D.C. | 2015 | 274 | Yes 2017 | |
21023 | Landmark | Flatiron Building | New York City | 2015 | 471 | Yes 2017 | |
21024 | Landmark | Louvre | Paris | 2015 | 695 | Yes 2019 | |
21026 | Skyline | Venice | Italy | 2016 | 212 | Yes 2018 | |
21027 | Skyline | Berlin | Germany | 2016 | 289 | Yes 2018 | |
21028 | Skyline | New York City | United States | 2016 | 598 | No | |
21029 | Landmark | Buckingham Palace | London | 2016 | 780 | Yes 2019 | |
21030 | Landmark | United States Capitol | Washington, D.C. | 2016 | 1,032 | Yes 2020 | |
21031 | Landmark | Burj Khalifa | Dubai | 2016 | 333 | Yes 2018 | |
21032 | Skyline | Sydney[20] | Australia | 2017 | 361 | Yes 2019 | |
21033 | Skyline | Chicago[20] | United States | 2017 | 444 | Yes 2019 | |
21034 | Skyline | London[20] | United Kingdom | 2017 | 468 | No | |
21035 | Landmark | Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum | New York City | 2017 | 744 | Yes 2019 | |
21036 | Landmark | Arc de Triomphe | Paris | 2017 | 386 | Yes 2019 | |
21037 | Landmark | Lego House | Billund | 2017 | 774 | No - Lego House exclusive | |
21038 | Skyline | Las Vegas | United States | 2018 | 487 | Replaced[a] | |
21039 | Skyline | Shanghai | China | 2018 | 597 | Yes 2021 | |
21041 | Landmark | Great Wall of China | China | 2018 | 551 | Yes 2020 | |
21042 | Landmark | Statue of Liberty | New York City | 2018 | 1,685 | No | |
21043 | Skyline | San Francisco | United States | 2019 | 565 | Yes 2022 | |
21044 | Skyline | Paris | France | 2019 | 649 | No | |
21045 | Landmark | Trafalgar Square | London | 2019 | 1,197 | Yes 2022 | |
21046 | Landmark | Empire State Building | New York City | 2019 | 1,767 | Yes 2022 | |
21047 | Skyline | Las Vegas | United States | 2018 | 501 | Yes 2021 | |
21050 | Studio[21] | — | 2013 | 1,210 | Yes 2019 | ||
21051 | Skyline | Tokyo | Japan | 2020 | 547 | No | |
21052 | Skyline | Dubai | United Arab Emirates | 2020 | 740 | Yes 2022 | |
21054 | Landmark | The White House | Washington, D.C. | 2020 | 1,483 | No | |
21055 (European markets only) | Landmark | Burj Khalifa | Dubai | 2019 | 333 | Yes 2022 | |
21056 | Landmark | Taj Mahal | Agra | 2021 | 2,022 | No | |
21057 | Skyline[22] | Singapore | Singapore | 2022 | 827 | No | |
21058 | Landmark[23] | Great Pyramid of Giza | Cairo | 2022 | 1476 | No |
- ^ Due to the 2017 Mandalay Bay hotel massacre, the Mandalay Bay was replaced by Bellagio and released as set #21047.
Set | Name | Location | Released | Number of pieces |
Retired product | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4000002 | LOM Moulding | Monterrey | 2011 | 174 | Given to employees | |
4000005 | KOM Moulding | Billund | 2012 | 315 | Given to employees | Kornmarken Factory is the first and largest LEGO moulding and production factory. |
4000006 | Kladno Campus | Kladno | 2012 | 250 | Given to employees | |
4000009 | HMV Production | 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[24] | Billund | 2014 | 250 | Only sold in Billund | Lego House opened in Billund in 2017. |
4000011 | Nyíregyháza Factory | Nyíregyháza | 2014 | 327 | Given to employees | Lego model of the Nyíregyháza Factory. |
4000015 | LOM Moulding B | Monterrey | 2014 | 215 | Given to employees | Additional packing building. A building, which expands the footprint of the existing facility. |
4000016 | Billund Airport | Billund | 2014 | 281 | Only sold at Billund Airport | Billund Airport was made for the 50th anniversary of the Airport. |
4000018 | Kladno Campus | 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. |
4000023 | Jiaxing Factory | China | 2016 | 407 | Given to employees | Set of the, at the time, new Lego factory in Jiaxing, China.[25][26] |
40199 | Billund Airport | Billund | 2018 | 286 | New edition from 4000016 | Only available at the airport in Billund. |
4000038 | LEGO Campus | Billund | 2022 | 1,494 | Given to employees | Released to celebrate the grand opening of the LEGO Campus on April 5, 2022. |
Impact
The product range has been reviewed favorably 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".[27]
In popular media
A near-exact replica of set 21006, The White House, appears in the eight story arc of the Japanese manga series JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, JoJolion, where it used by the villain character Poor Tom to activate his "stand" power, "Ozon Baby".[28][29][30]
References
- ^ a b "BrickLink Reference Catalog - Sets - Category LEGO Architecture". Bricklink. Retrieved 2021-04-12.
- ^ "About Lego Architecture". Lego Group. Retrieved 29 December 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "Brickstructures". Retrieved 29 December 2009.
- ^ Official Announcement: 21010 Robie House, 13 July 2011, archived from the original on 22 July 2011, retrieved 11 August 2011
- ^ Sarah Firsheinn (8 August 2011), Lego to Eternalize the Brandenburg Gate in Architecture Series, Curbed Network, archived from the original on 2 October 2011, retrieved 11 August 2011
- ^ "Sears Tower now named Willis Tower" Archived 2010-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. CNN. July 16, 2009
- ^ a b "Release of two Frank Lloyd Wright Collection sets from LEGO Architecture". Lego.com. May 9, 2009
- ^ "The world's tallest building in LEGO® bricks". Lego.com. May 25, 2011
- ^ "Modernist architectural icon immortalised in LEGO® bricks". Lego.com. April 4, 2011
- ^ "Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House Joins LEGO® Architecture series". Lego.com. September 19, 2011
- ^ "Sydney's revered opera house immortalized in LEGO® bricks". Lego.com. February 21, 2012
- ^ "LEGO® Big Ben celebrates Victorian London's greatest landmark". Lego.com. April 18, 2012
- ^ "Le Corbusier's French masterpiece becomes a LEGO® Architecture model". Lego.com. August 31, 2012
- ^ "A Korean landmark recreated as LEGO® Architecture". Lego.com. May 14, 2012
- ^ "Revisit the Imperial Hotel with LEGO Architecture" Archived 2013-03-05 at the Wayback Machine. Lego.com. March 1, 2013
- ^ " Archived 2014-11-02 at the Wayback Machine. BrickExtra. May 15, 2013
- ^ Lego Architecture: Der Eiffelturm – das ist Spitze Ukonio.de 14 Oktober 2014
- ^ BREAKING: Trevi-fontein wordt volgende Lego Architecture set Madpac.nl 13 January 2014
- ^ Série LEGO® Architecture incluirá o Lincoln Memorial e o Edifício Flatiron Archdaily.com
- ^ a b c "Architecture | 2017". Retrieved 2016-09-11.
- ^ " Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine. Brickset. June 29, 2013
- ^ "Soar into the Singapore skyline with LEGO Architecture". Brick Fanatics. 1 January 2022.
- ^ "LEGO Architecture 21058 Great Pyramid of Giza officially revealed". Brick Fanatics. 10 May 2022.
- ^ Exclusive: 4000010 LEGO House Brickset.com 17 March 2014
- ^ "LEGO Group to build factory in China".
- ^ Ruijter, Michiel de (28 November 2016). "Exclusieve LEGO 4000023 Jiaxing Factory set - Bouwsteentjes.info".
- ^ Jenny Williams (23 May 2009). "Frank Lloyd Wright + Lego = Awesome". Geekdad. Wired.
- ^ Araki, Hirohiko (2017). Escape from Mount Hanarero. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-881443-8.
- ^ Araki, Hirohiko (2018). North of the Higashikata Household. The Orchard. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-881452-0.
- ^ Araki, Hirohiko (2018). Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Wu Tomoki. Shueisha. ISBN 978-4-08-881596-1.