Lego Architecture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lego Architecture
Subthemes Landmark Series
Architect Series
Discovery Series
Subject Buildings
Availability 2008–Present
Total sets 17
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

By the beginning of 2010, six sets had been released in the range, under two ‘series’. Within the 'Landmark Series' are models of the Willis 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. 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, the 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) then came out in the Lego Architecture series. In October 2013, the next architecture set, Marina Bay Sands was announced. Also, in October 2013, the Eiffel Tower was announced.

Set Series Name Released Number of Pieces Comments
21000 Landmark Sears Tower 2008 69
21000 Landmark Willis Tower 2011 69 [5]
21001 Landmark John Hancock Center 2008 69
21002 Landmark Empire State Building 2009 77
21003 Landmark Seattle Space Needle 2009 57
21004 Architect Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum [6] 2009 208
21005 Architect Fallingwater [7] 2009 811
21006 Landmark The White House 2010 560
21007 Landmark Rockefeller Center 2011 240
21008 Architect Burj Khalifa [8] 2011 208
21009 Architect Farnsworth House [9] 2011 546
21010 Architect Robie House [10] 2011 2276
21011 Landmark Brandenburg Gate 2011 363
21012 Architect Sydney Opera House [11] 2012 270
21013 Landmark Big Ben [12] 2012 346
21014 Architect Villa Savoye [13] 2012 660
21016 Landmark Sungnyemun Gate [14] 2012 325
21017 Architect Imperial Hotel [15] 2013 1188
21015 Landmark Leaning Tower of Pisa 2013 345
21018 Landmark United Nations Headquarters [16] 2013 597
21019 Landmark The Eiffel Tower 2014 321
21020 Architect The Trevi Fountain 2014 N/A
21021 Architect Marina Bay Sands 2014 602
21050 Architect Lego Architecture Studio [17] 2013 1210

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".[18]

References

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