Brick List & Buying Guide for ‘The LEGO Architect’ book

Want to build all of the models featured in my book, The LEGO Architect? You’ve come to the right place!

Note: If you just want to learn which LEGO parts are most common, check out our article: 2019 Most Common LEGO Parts.

 

Getting Started

There are a few questions which will influence which parts you need, and how you should buy them…

  • How large is your LEGO collection?
    Learn more about your LEGO collection in our popular LEGO Storage Guide.
  • Do you only want to build the models in the book?
    A larger selection of parts makes it easier to design your own LEGO architecture models.
  • Do you want to only use white and clear bricks?
    If you have a fairly large collection, you may be able to build everything in the book by substituting other colors from your collection.

I’ve prepared recommendations and shopping lists for the most common situations. You’re encouraged to adapt these recommendations based on your unique circumstances… For example, if you already have a decent LEGO collection, find the appropriate list on this page and only purchase the parts which are missing from your collection.

Parts for ‘The LEGO Architect’ book

If you want to build all of the models in the book but don’t need extra parts to help you design and build your own models, you need just 909 LEGO pieces. I’ve prepared the following list to help you purchase just the pieces you need.

Parts for ‘The LEGO Architect’ book + Architecture Studio

If you want to build all of the models in the book and design your own models, you will needed a fairly large selection of bricks. There are two ways to get a general-purpose collection of white and clear bricks, plus everything you need to build all of the models in the book…

If you already own ‘LEGO Architecture Studio’ set

If you already own the LEGO Architecture Studio set, you can make many of the models featured in the book with only minor part substitutions.

If you want to build every model in the book using exactly the same parts indicated by the instructions, you will need to purchase the following 252 additional bricks. Most of these are inexpensive commonly-available bricks, and are a useful addition to your Architecture Studio set. (The parts cost under 25$ + shipping as of October 2015.)

If you do not own the ‘LEGO Architecture Studio’ set

You’re welcome to buy retired set #21050 LEGO Architecture Studio at a premium price, but it’s a lot cheaper to just buy the exact same 1211 pieces online. Here’s a .bsx file containing all of the parts you would have gotten if you purchased the set.

Don’t forget to also buy the 252 additional parts listed in the Additional_Parts_with_21050.bsx, so you can build all of the models in the book!

Purchasing LEGO bricks online

The cheapest way to purchase these parts is to order them on Bricklink using the following instructions:

  1. Download the .bsx file containing the parts you need from this page.
    A .bsx file is an XML file format containing a list of parts and quantities. (You can edit .bsx files using the BrickStock app for PC/Mac).
  2. Go to bricklink.com and sign-in (or create an account).
  3. Click “Want”, then “Upload”.
    Or click this link after signing-in: bricklink.com/v2/wanted/upload.page
  4. Click the “Add to:” dropdown, and choose “Create New Wanted List”. Type a memorable name for the list (such as “Parts for LEGO Architect Book”).
  5. Click “Browse for file” and select the .bsx file you downladed in step 1.
  6. After uploading the file it should say “The file [filename] was accepted”. Click “Proceed to verify items”.
  7. Scroll through the list to make sure it is correct. At the bottom of the page, Click “Add to Wanted List”, then click “View [name of your list]”.
  8. Press the green “Buy All” button. (It may take a few minutes to finish finding stores containing parts from your wishlist.)
  9. Click “Auto-select” to find the best match.
    It is unlikely that a single store will have all of the parts you need, so you will need to make multiple purchases to get all of the parts you need.
  10. Click “Create carts”, and follow the steps to complete each of the purchases.

NOTE: The lists on this page do not include additional parts required to build the downloadable bonus content from my website. If you decide to place an order on Bricklink, you should consider if you want to add any additional parts to your order. (You can modify the .bsx file before uploading it to BrickLink, or edit your wishlist on the BrickLink website after uploading it.)

Other useful bricks for building LEGO architecture

Every year, there are about 20 new general-purpose LEGO parts (excluding one-off pieces for licensed sets or minifigure accessories). This includes a handful of parts that are very useful for building LEGO Architecture models which were introduced after the LEGO Architecture Studio set was released in 2013.

One of these days, I hope to provide an up-to-date list of the most versatile parts for building LEGO Architecture. (You could think of this as modern refresh of the parts contained in 2013’s LEGO Architecture Studio set.)

In the meantime, you are welcome to look back to this article I wrote in 2013 which highlights the Top 10 parts missing from the LEGO Architecture Studio set. (It’s at my tomalphin.com website, since brickarchitect.com wasn’t established until 2015.)

I hope this guide was helpful in purchasing the parts you need to build all of the models in my book. If you have any questions/suggestions to make this guide even better, please leave a comment below!

32 Responses

  1. David says:

    I’m trying to import the bsx files to bricklink, however some items can’t be found anymore:
    – Item No: 3062b
    – Item No: 3068b
    – Item No: 3069b
    – Item No: 3070b

    Any ideas if these can be replaced by the non ‘b’ variants?

    • Tom Alphin says:

      Yes, you can use the non-‘b’ variants – they are more or less interchangeable.

      LEGO part numbers are confusing, with different part numbers used on different websites.

  2. inasentence says:

    I just got my copy of the LEGO Architect book and I’m really enjoying it! I’m a big fan of LEGO and this book is full of great ideas for building with LEGO.

  3. Richard Pratt says:

    Do you have plans for the Unite D’Habitation?

    • Tom Alphin says:

      I do not have plans for that model. It was designed by another LEGO artist, and they haven’t made instructions available. If they do, I will be sure to share a link on my website and newsletter.

      —Tom

  4. Dan Maceluch says:

    Tom: I am new to this world. And the information and choices are dizzying. Is there a Lego starter kit(s) I can purchase that would help me get going with your book? Thanks in advance, Dan

  5. John G says:

    Hi

    When I try and upload the parts list bsx. file to Bricklink it states it’s an unsupported format. Do you have to use the BrickStock app to format it somehow first?

    I’m using a Mac.

    Thanks

    • Tom Alphin says:

      Can you try this on a PC? I have not had this problem, and do not have a Mac that I can use to try…

      —Tom

  6. Peter says:

    Tom, I’m a bit confused. The “All_Parts_for_The_Lego_Architect_book.bsx” contains only 20 1×1 plates (3070b) but this doesn’t seem to be enough to build all the models from the book (ie just one of the models use 20 of those parts).

    Am I misunderstanding?

    • Tom Alphin says:

      Peter, if you right-click on the .bsx file link and choose “Save as”, you can save it to your computer. After that, open the file with BrickStock app on your Windows PC.

      I just checked, and the file includes inventory for all of the parts you need.

      • Peter says:

        I’m still confused.

        The All_Parts_for_The_Lego_Architect_book.bsx says to purchase:
        20 Tile 1 × 1 with Groove (3070)

        However:
        Domed Building uses 8 x 3070
        Prairie House uses 19 x 3070

        So if I buy that part list, it’s not enough lego to build all the models

        • Peter says:

          I see my confusion

          “Since many of the models use the same parts, you may need to disassemble each model before building the next model in the book.”

          I thought it was a part list to build EVERY model in the book

  7. Tom: You’ve got critical errors. “Additional_Parts_with_21050.bsx” and “Parts_in_21050_LEGO_Architecture_Studio.bsx” download links are all kinds of broken. (On Mac 10.15.4 | Chrome 81.0.4044.138 | Official Build | 64-bit.)

    It looks like one can download the .bsxs if you secondary-select and hit “save link as…” and download the file. Just be aware that you’ve made it a bit harder for your readers to make use of your book.

    • Tom Alphin says:

      Will,
      Thank you for pointing out this issue. I suspect that it would be easier for most readers if I put the .bsx files within a .zip file, since most web browser download managers know what to do with that file format. I will look into this for a future update to this page, as I had received a similar report from another reader.

      Sincerely,
      —Tom

  8. Joy Overstreet says:

    I have your book and got most of the extra pieces on BrickLink awhile ago. LOVE all of it. My question is WHY DOESN’T LEGO REISSUE the Architecture Studio Version 2.0 with the additional bricks to go with your designs??? At a time like this, when we’re stuck at home this kit is saving my sanity. I’ve written about it in my newsletter, and some of my readers would like to buy it, but don’t want to spend $500 on eBay for a used kit. Do you have any clout with LEGO?

    • Tom Alphin says:

      Joy,
      Thank you for the enthusiastic response to my book. I completely agree that an updated “2.0” version with slightly revised parts and a book similar to my own would be a great way to encourage peopel to learn Architecture by building. Alas, I don’t have any real clout with The LEGO Group, so we will just have to wait and hope that they come to their senses.

      —tom

  9. Eggo my Lego says:

    The Lego games lied to me! I’ve always called those studdy things studs, when in actuality, they’re called Plate 1×1 Rounds?! What is this blasphemy! What is life? WHAT IS LEEEEGOOOOO!!??!?!!!???!!!???

    • Tom Alphin says:

      The LEGO Games aren’t actually made by LEGO, but rather a close partnership between The LEGO Group and TT Games, which is under the Warner Brothers Games division. That said, they try to accurately reflect the LEGO products in the games. They are definitely casual with part names (as you noticed), and they frequently use retired LEGO elements, or parts which don’t actually exist in real life.

      —tom

    • jim crow says:

      actually, in Lego games, they’re called studs, so no wrong done!

  10. Jess says:

    How many of the models in the book can be built simultaneously with both the Architecture a studio and the supplemental bricks?

    • tomalphin says:

      Jess,
      To my knowledge, you can only assemble one model at a time. It is possible that you can assemble more than one, but you will probably run out of common parts such as bricks, plates, or jumpers.

      The idea of the book is that you build the model by following the instructions, then you’re inspired to tear it down and build a new model of your own design based on what you learned in that chapter.

      Sincerely,
      —tom

  11. M. Appelman says:

    The “Already own ‘LEGO Architecture Studio’ set?” list displayed on this page is different from the Additional_Parts_with_21050.bsx file. Which should we go by to make sure we can build all the models in the book?

    • tomalphin says:

      M. Appelman,
      Thank you for your question. I looked at the website and agree that this is confusing! The problem is that the downloadable .bsx file included some additional parts required to assemble the “Microscale Neoclassical Monument” that you can download at http://brickarchitect.com/book/extras/ but you do not need those extra parts to build all of the models in the book.

      To make things less confusing, I just edited the downloadable .bsx file to match the list on the website.

      Thanks for your sharp eyes and feedback!
      —tom

  12. Dan says:

    The link to Brickficiency doesn’t appear to load, and it looks like that’s because ownership switched hands at some point recently. I was able to download a copy of the program from https://github.com/WindmillHelix/Brickficiency2/releases.

  13. James says:

    Part 4073 is listed on the lego pick-a-brick website as 6141.

  14. Gregorio says:

    Hello I can’t upload this list to brick link, any advise?
    regards

  15. Matt says:

    I’ve been building with the Architecture Studio Set for a while – I’ll have to start experimenting with the 252 additional bricks now!

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