Dezeen Magazine

Lego introduces Skyline building kits for recreating cityscapes

Danish toy brand Lego has released a set of kits that allows architecture lovers to build skylines of cities around the world.

The first three sets to be launched are Venice, Berlin and New York City, with each of the cities' well-known buildings reconstructed in miniature brick form.

Skyline building kits by Lego

The New York City kit features the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, the Statue of Liberty – recreated with a single minifigure – the Flatiron Building and One World Trade Center.

For Venice, owners can recreate landmarks including the Rialto Bridge, St Mark's Campanile and St Mark's Basilica, while the set for the German capital features a tiny candy-striped TV Tower, alongside the Brandenburg Gate and miniature recreations of decorated sections of the Berlin Wall.

Skyline building kits by Lego

All of the sets will include a booklet detailing the history of each landmark, and will be available from January 2016 with a reported price tag between $30 (£20) and $60 (£40).

"We hope that these sets will appeal to not only people living in these cities, but also city visitors and city dreamers," said Lego.

The kits have been launched by Lego Architecture – an offshoot from the toy brand that releases building blocks aimed at architects and designers.

A kit of monochrome bricks released in 2014 gave builders access to 76 unique components, designed to let users create their own miniature architectural masterpieces.

Skyline building kits by Lego

The building blocks have developed a fan base among architects and designers. Steven Holl and Bjarke Ingels used them to contribute to a fictional cityscape, commissioned by artist Olafur Eliasson.

Ingels had previously said the bricks were the ultimate tool for testing architectural ideas, describing their proportions as "the golden ratio of architecture".

Architect Winy Maas of MVRDV also used Lego blocks to create 676 miniature towers that were shown at the 2012 Venice Architecture Biennale.