LEGO Architecture is not the theme it once was – and it’s all the better for it

LEGO Architecture has undergone a sea change in the past three years, taking it further from what it once was and closer to the wider LEGO portfolio – and it’s all the better for it.

Earlier this year, I took a brief break from editing Brick Fanatics to journey across the world to Japan. It was a trip some four years in the making (I originally booked it for summer 2020, and then… well… you know), and took in all the hotspots of the island nation: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima and Miyajima. And while travelling on the bullet train from Osaka down to Hiroshima, I made a brief stop at Himeji Castle.

Though my Japanese adventure was mostly studs-free (I did check out the LEGO Store in Osaka on one especially rainy day), visiting Himeji Castle in person compelled me to build the LEGO version once I’d arrived home. And piecing it together got me thinking about how the LEGO Architecture range has changed over the years, and particularly in the last three years, starting with 2022’s 21058 Great Pyramid of Giza.

LEGO Architecture has been chugging along at a steady pace since 2008, when basic, monochrome recreations of Chicago’s Sears Tower and John Hancock Centre debuted in limited quantities. And for the first few years of its life, this theme was content to churn out isolated, largely lifeless landmarks, whether based on iconic buildings from around the world or more obscure examples that would appeal mostly to architecture nerds.

That all changed when the LEGO Group decided to turn its attentions from the here and now to what came before. Those changes were born out of necessity, too: it’s relatively easy to make an interesting exercise out of building the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe, but a pyramid is one of the most basic things you can build from bricks. You don’t need an official LEGO set to teach you how to do that.

What 21058 Great Pyramid of Giza does then is teach you how to make such a building visually captivating, and that’s by breathing life into its surroundings and even its internal structure. The trees, boats, statues, slice of the River Nile and even the smaller pyramids all add something to the overall display, but crucially they introduce an element from the wider LEGO portfolio to LEGO Architecture: story.

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These details give the pyramid something evocative of both a place and a point in time, compared to just the bare bones of the building itself. It’s something we’ve seen a flavour of previously in LEGO Architecture’s Skylines series, especially as those sets progressed from an arrangement of individual buildings to a broader interpretation of their cities, and in sets like 21045 Trafalgar Square and even 21054 The White House. But it's in Egypt where things really came to life.

It's also a path down which 21060 Himeji Castle continued in summer 2023, serving up not only the fortress itself but also its surroundings – the cherry blossom trees, the grounds, and the paths that visitors walk while gazing up at Japan’s largest and most highly-regarded castle. A standalone building without any of those accoutrements might not have had quite the same impact; it would have felt more sterile, more by the numbers, more like the old days of LEGO Architecture.

Instead, those areas – along with the castle’s interior – really do recapture the feeling of being there in person. And they’re so true to the castle as it stands today that 21060 Himeji Castle genuinely feels like a must-have for LEGO fans who have visited it in person (or are interested in going). You can’t quite say that about 21058 Great Pyramid of Giza, largely because it’s also linked to a particular time.

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This year’s 21061 Notre-Dame de Paris arguably manages the best of both worlds by depicting the cathedral as it looks today, complete with a hint of its surroundings, but also taking a journey back through time again by recreating the construction process of the real thing. That in itself places story at the centre of the build, and it’s that particular shift in the theme that’s reaping rewards for LEGO Architecture at the minute.

Of course, these sets don’t forget to include the architectural details that made this theme shine in the first place (at least after those initially simplistic models). 21060 Himeji Castle, for example, is a joy to assemble regardless of any attachment you may or may not have to the place, thanks entirely to its creative solutions to building off-grid, capturing tiny details and knowing when and where to use new elements effectively.

As a complete package, 21060 Himeji Castle represents the middle chapter of a trilogy of sets that together cement a bold new direction for LEGO Architecture. And though the theme has slimmed down to just one set per year (or perhaps two for 2025, if current rumours are to be believed), it’s as clear a case as you’ll find of a product line prioritising quality over quantity.

21060 Himeji Castle, 21061 Notre-Dame de Paris and 21058 Great Pyramid of Giza are all available now. This copy of 21060 Himeji Castle was provided by the LEGO Group for review.