The Shifting Landscape of LEGO Architecture
/Today’s guest article comes from Koen Van Der Hoeven, who is a data and LEGO architecture fan located in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. You can find more of his writing on Brick Architect.
What is Architecture?
As you read this article, you may at times find yourself asking the following question, “What is Architecture?”
IMage via FreePIk
Architecture is a bit of everything. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings, structures, and spaces that serve both functional and aesthetic purposes.
Architecture shapes the physical environment in which people live, work, and interact, blending creativity with practicality to create spaces that are not only functional but often visually compelling. Beyond surface level, architecture reflects societal values, technological advancements, and historical evolution, making it a dynamic discipline that bridges engineering, art, and human experience.
IMage via FreePik
In a way, architecture represents the building blocks of society, so what better hobby to showcase architecture than one where building blocks are core?
A History of LEGO Architecture
Before we dive further into current expressions of architecture through LEGO, I want to explore a bit the direction of LEGO Architecture over the last few years and what this may mean for the future of this theme. All thoughts herein are entirely speculative and based on the data available. This is in no way stating LEGO’s thoughts on the theme. Given LEGO keeps things close to their chest, we can have a bit of fun speculating.
To understand the direction of LEGO Architecture it is important to first go back to the year 2008. Architect Adam Reed Tucker had two passions, art and architecture—and what better way to marry the two than by using LEGO bricks as a medium for showcasing this art? Using this passion, Adam Reed Tucker founded Brickstructures, Inc. and began designing and selling models of famous landmarks in LEGO form.
IMage via LEGO
His work was quickly noticed by the LEGO group, who partnered with Adam to be the official licensed manufacturer of his models under the LEGO Architecture theme. The LEGO Architecture theme has since grown and released sets under three subthemes, Landmark Series, Architect Series and Skylines, each capturing the essence of Architecture in brick form.
Image via LEGO
While the early 2010s did not see LEGO capture the adult market as well as they have now, the sets in the LEGO Architecture line were not designed for play, instead serving as display pieces, highlighting the intricacies that LEGO can capture to replicate their real-life counterparts.
Well before the “Adults Welcome” marketing initiative, LEGO was targeting mature builders with premium black boxes, detailed instruction books full of insight, and sets with many small parts to replicate architectural details. The product line has been so successful that there are more than 50 sets in the LEGO Architecture line to date.
Is LEGO Ideas Replacing LEGO Architecture?
Unfortunately, the number of sets on the market under the Architecture theme has diminished over the years, with the last five years seeing only six sets released, a stark drop compared to the 25 sets released five years prior.
While it is easy to go all doom and gloom and say that LEGO Architecture is dying, it is far from it. We have seen many sets that previously would have been released under Architecture instead being released under other themes, most notably the LEGO Ideas and Icons (previously Creator Expert) themes. 10276 Colosseum is a perfect example of a set not officially in the LEGO Architecture theme that should be.
IMage via LEGO
When we use the definition of architecture discussed earlier, we can see that while we may be deviating away from what we traditionally saw with iconic structures released in small set form, we are instead seeing it come through intricate minifigure scale creations. While these cannot be compared like for like, some of the things that made LEGO Architecture such a beloved theme are bleeding into other themes.
LEGO Ideas has seen a rise in architectural-related sets by showcasing the power of pop culture architecture in LEGO form. Whether this be iconic buildings such as 21330 Home Alone or through the various cut-outs of major movie sets, capturing both the interior and a section of the exterior. If you look at the submissions made each month to the Ideas line you can see that buildings are always popular, with Ideas being the perfect way to bring pop culture buildings into LEGO form.
Image via LEGO
While LEGO Ideas has been mostly exploring pop culture, the Icons line has continued to play a pivotal role in releasing large architectural buildings. The LEGO Modular line of sets is no stranger to fans of buildings. While the Modular line has been a fan favorite, we see Icons release other sets more aligned to the Architecture theme through its Landmarks, Gardens of The World and Restaurants of The World subthemes.
IMage via LEGO
While Architecture may see a decrease in the number of sets in its theme, we should instead view it from the glass-half-full perspective of rebranding. It feels like “LEGO Architecture” is in its heyday.
An Analysis of All LEGO Architecture
But feelings don’t show trends like data does. I have compiled a list of all the LEGO sets released by year under the Architecture, LEGO Ideas and Icons lines that I felt capture the essence of the word “architecture” based on the definitions explored earlier. Due to the subjective nature of what classifies as architectural, I am sure there will be readers questioning whether a particular set should be added to the list. For sets that are architectural in nature but not strictly architecture-based, we can view them as architect-adjacent.
While this definition could span even further across almost every theme (for example, Ninjago City is architectural in nature but was not included), I have decided to scope this analysis to solely the Icons, Architecture and Ideas themes. I have also chosen to omit the holiday sets released under the Icons line from this count as, while technically buildings, their focus is more on the festive scenes and did not fit my list.
From this data we can see that the number of raw sets has trended slightly upwards, with architectural builds instead moving to other popular themes after 2020. This also coincides with the LEGO Ideas line becoming more ambitious with the number of sets they release per year, especially ones that draw from nostalgia.
To get a list of all the LEGO Ideas and Icons sets used in this analysis, you can review the table below:
| Year | Ideas Set | Icons Set |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | ||
| 2009 | ||
| 2010 | 10214 Tower Bridge | |
| 2011 | ||
| 2012 | ||
| 2013 | 10234 Sydney Opera House | |
| 2014 | ||
| 2015 | 21302 The Big Bang Theory | |
| 2016 | 10253 Big Ben | |
| 2017 | 21310 Old Fishing Store | 10256 Taj Mahal |
| 2018 | ||
| 2019 | 21316 The Flintstones 21318 Tree House 21319 Central Perk |
|
| 2020 | 21324 Sesame Street | 10272 Old Trafford - Manchester United 10273 Haunted House 10276 Colosseum |
| 2021 | 21325 Medieval Blacksmith 21326 Winnie the Pooh 21328 Seinfeld 21330 Home Alone |
10284 Camp Nou - FC Barcelona 10291 Queer Eye 10292 Friends Apartments |
| 2022 | 21355 Motorized Lighthouse 21336 The Office |
10299 Real Madrid - Santiago Bernabéu Stadium 10305 Lion Knights' Castle 10307 Eiffel Tower |
| 2023 | 21388 A-Frame Cabin 21399 BTS Dynamite 21341 Disney Hocus Pocus 21343 Viking Village |
10316 The Lord of the Rings Rivendell |
| 2024 | 21348 Dungeons & Dragons 21351 Nightmare Before Christmas 21353 The Botanical Garden |
10332 Medieval Town Square 10333 The Lord of the Rings Barad-dûr |
| 2025 | 21354 Twilight The Cullen House | 10359 Fountain Garden 10362 French Café |
While the total number of Architecture-related sets might not be dropping as much as we may expect through other themes, one thing to point out is the cost of the sets in the official LEGO Architecture product line.
As LEGO pivots to capture the adult market, Architecture is perfectly poised to capture the hearts (and wallets) of adults. By making Architecture sets larger, designers can better capture smaller details of the subject matter, allowing the sets to highlight the intricacies of real-life structures more accurately. But this comes at a cost.
New more detailed Trevi Fouintain compared to the old. Image via Brick Architect
As we see the more affordable Skylines subtheme fall to the wayside and smaller sets in this theme be replaced, we see the median price of all sets in the wave steeply rising—2020 was the last year we saw a median set price of under $80 US. You can see the rising median price of official LEGO Architecture sets over the years in the chart below.
While bigger and pricier sets can often allow for cooler models, LEGO is making these sets less accessible and we lose variety as a handful of sets released at a moderate price point are merged into one large set released per year. As a consequence, this means if you don’t like the landmark or structure that is being built in LEGO form this year, you may have to wait a whole year to see what comes next.
What Comes Next
As we see from the data, architecture and its influence on adjacent themes is far from being discontinued. While LEGO Architecture as a theme is evolving after its nearly two decades run, we see how its influence has shaped the current adult wave of sets and LEGO’s continued focus on structures in other themes.
For example, we see this growth exemplified through the recently available 21354 Hoke House, a brick-built rendition of an amazingly designed architectural wonder, brought to fame through pop culture. But is it finally a return to classic architecture? More on that tomorrow.
What other sets could be considered LEGO Architecture? Let us know in the comments below!
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