About Brick Architect

Brick Architect was founded in 2015 by Tom Alphin, author of the bestselling book The LEGO Architect.

Brick Architect explores a wide range of topics related to LEGO architecture, technical aspects of the LEGO hobby, and other architecture topics.

Here at Brick Architect, we focus on in-depth stories covering a wide range of topics including analysis of the cheapest (and most expensive) LEGO colors, a deep look at scale in LEGO models, a guide to “unofficial” LEGO Architecture sets, and analysis of upcoming LEGO Sets like the delayed Las Vegas Skyline set.

In addition to stories based on current news, set reviews, and analysis, the site also includes dedicated sections devoted to each of the following topics.

Other Resources at Brick Architect:

  • The LEGO Storage Guide is the ultimate guide to help you better understand your LEGO collection, with suggestions to organize, sort, and store your LEGO.
  • The LEGO Brick Labels collection includes over 1000 labels for the most common LEGO elements which you can print at home. It makes organizing your collection much easier!
  • The LEGO Architect is the bestselling book which teaches 7 styles of architecture using LEGO, written by Brick Architect founder Tom Alphin.
  • Signature Commissions by Tom Alphin. Tell your story using LEGO, with a commissioned LEGO project or live building demonstration.

Suggestions? Ideas? Want to join us?

We are always listening! If you find an error in one of our articles, please leave a comment and we will fix it as soon as we can. Likewise, If you have a suggestion for a future article, please email tom@tomalphin.com with your suggestion, and we’ll look into it!

Writing for Brick Architect? Until recently, all of the stories were written by Tom Alphin… Thankfully, we have gathered a small group of writers who share an interest in telling in-depth stories about a growing range of LEGO topics.

If you want to join the team, email tom@tomalphin.com to learn more.

About Tom Alphin

As the story goes, I was an extremely energetic kid growing up in the 80’s, but LEGO was always one of my greatest pleasures. In rough chronology, I visited the following LEGOLAND themes: Space, Town, Train, Pirates. As you might expect, the LEGO Architecture theme is what drew me back to the hobby. I built the smaller sets with some enthusiasm, but 21050 LEGO Architecture Studio is what really caught my attention.

Prior to creating Brick Architect, I explored topics such as the LEGO Architecture Studio 30-day challenge at his personal blog (tomalphin.com).

One thing lead to another, and I started working on my book The LEGO Architect in 2014, and it was released in fall 2015. The book explores 7 architectural styles using LEGO, with a careful blend of history, photos of real buildings, inspiring LEGO models by talented LEGO artists around the world, and instructions to build at least one model for each style. — The book’s success and the success of the Brick Architect website has given me the opportunity to do a few commissioned LEGO projects.

In addition to being a lifelong LEGO enthusiast, I’m a hopeless collector of hobbies. Other passions include Photography, Travel, Hiking/Cycling/Climbing/Mountaineering, and more. On weekdays, you will find me at Microsoft, where I am a User Experience Engineer designing the future of Windows operating system. (I designed the “Timeline” feature which was released in 2018!)

Our Writing Team

It is a great pleasure to have these talented writers contributing great content to the Brick Architect website.
Koen Van Der Hoeven
Koen Van Der Hoeven
35 posts
An avid traveler, Koen likes to explore how different ages and cultures result in different architectural styles, with preferences for historic European and Japanese architecture. He was drawn to LEGO as a way to explore his interests in medieval architecture and fantasy, so it's no surprise that some of his favorite themes are Castle, Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. As a fan of architecture new and old he also really enjoys the Modular Building Series. A software engineer by day, he finds LEGO relaxing and it gives him a creative outlet outside of the office.
View Posts →
Amy Alphin
Amy Alphin
7 posts
Amy is a former elementary school teacher who has built the occasional LEGO set over the years, and kept a large bag of LEGO bricks in her classroom to help her students survive rainy day recess (which can be common in Seattle). She loves to travel to see natural beauty and visit historic landmarks, and is slowly learning to appreciate architecture too.
View Posts →
Jeannie Jonas
Jeannie Jonas
7 posts
Jeannie is a lifelong Lego devotee, joining us from Portland, Oregon. In addition to a lifetime collecting and building LEGO, Jeannie has collected a diverse set of skills and interests which include degrees in Architecture and a degree in Culinary Arts from Le Cordon Bleu. She is involved in a local LEGO User’s Group, and organizes the Architecture theme at Bricks Cascade, Portland’s annual LEGO convention which takes place in March.
View Posts →
Stephani Maari Booker
Stephani Maari Booker
2 posts
Stephani came out of the Dark Ages in 2016 when she found LEGO bricks scattered around her newly purchased home. With the addition of a bag of bricks from a thrift store, Stephani used these LEGO bricks to build her own version of the classic LEGO Architecture Sears Tower (no, she’s not calling the skyscraper that new name!). Since then, she has scattered a number of mini- and micro-sized LEGO models around the Minneapolis house she shares with her wife.
View Posts →

Journalistic Integrity

Occasionally, Brick Architect receives complimentary merchandise to review such as official LEGO Sets, LEGO Storage products, unofficial LEGO Sets, or other accessories.

In these cases, we will clearly disclose that the merchandise was provided for review, and we will review the item fairly based on the assumption that we had purchased it at retail price. (Sending merchandise for us to review may increase the chance of having a review posted to the site, but does not guarantee a positive review.)

Ratings and Reviews

Starting in May 2018, Brick Architect assigns a numeric rating to each LEGO set that we review. Our ratings are based on the appeal to an adult builder who enjoys the set’s theme.

Ratings are primarily based on the finished model and building experience, although the selection of parts included in the set, or an unusually high or low retail price can also affect the rating. (We also use this rating system for books, LEGO storage solutions, and other products.)

Our Ratings:

  • Must Have – Our 5/5 star rating is reserved for the very best sets. This coveted rating is reserved for sets that are exceptionally creative, well designed, fun to build, and/or offer an exceptional value. These sets have a very broad appeal, and are likely to appeal to LEGO enthusiasts who don’t usually collect a particular theme.
    We estimate that 15% of all LEGO products deserve this rating.
  • Recommended – Most great sets earn the 4/5 star rating. These sets might have a slightly narrower appeal than our 5/5 star sets, include less exciting parts, or be overpriced compared to similar sets.
    We estimate that 35% of all LEGO products deserve this rating.
  • Good – Many sets earn the 3/5 star rating. These sets still have a lot to offer to builders who are drawn to this particular theme or model, and have less creative building techniques or play features.
    We estimate that 35% of all LEGO products deserve this rating.
  • Acceptable – A few not-so-great sets will earn our 2/5 star rating. These sets have significant flaws compared to similar sets, and are generally only recommended for dedicated fans of a particular theme.
    We estimate that 10% of all LEGO products deserve this rating.
  • Not Recommended – Only the very worst LEGO sets deserve a 1/5 star rating. These sets are likely to have repetitive building techniques, less interesting parts, and visible flaws in the set design.
    We estimate that only 5% of all LEGO products deserve this rating.

Artificial Intelligence Policy

Here at Brick Architect, we take pride in creating in-depth LEGO content that is written by humans, for humans. We also recognize that a number of Artifical Intelligence (AI) technologies can help us create better content.

Our Goal: Even with the introduction of advanced generative AI built on neural network architectures (such as ChatGPT), we will continue to write our own stories and complement them with great photography. If we decide to include AI-generated images or text in future articles, they will be clearly marked.

A few examples where we currently use AI technologies:

  • Image Editing – Most of the photos that accompany our reviews and articles have been edited for screen, with the goal of accurately reflecting how it looks in real life. AI editing techniques include background detection, content-aware fill, and healing tools.
  • Text Editing – We do not use AI to generate article text, but we do use AI (such as ChatGPT) to help us write better articles. This involves asking for suggestions to improve the text which we wrote ourselves. To ensure our human voice is not lost in the process, we use the AI-generated suggestions as a starting point and make changes to the text manually.
  • Summarization – Generative AI like ChatGPT is extremely good at summarizing text. It is used for ideas when writing excerpts for our own articles or summaries of the articles/reviews featured in our Monthly LEGO News Roundups.
  • Translation – The ability to translate any website to your preferred language is powered by AI. We use it when reading articles from around the world, and occasionally feature non-English content in our Monthly LEGO News Roundups.
  • Transcription – Transcribing audio is incredibly time consuming. AI-based transcription tools turn audio from interviews into text we can proofread and include in our articles.

Lastly, as more and more content from around the web is replaced with AI generated content, we aim to continue offering rigorously researched articles written by humans. We have always tried to include links to source material when appropriate, but we will make a greater effort to include more citations to reputable sources which helped us write the best content possible. (This could take the form of more inline links or increased use of footnotes.)

Affiliate Marketing

Readers like you can support Brick Architect by making purchases through our affiliate links. We only receive a small commission for any given purchase but they add up… This helps cover the costs required create great articles and maintain the website.

Our Affiliate Partners:

Privacy Policy

If you like the content at Brick Architect, please sign-up for our newsletter at http://brickarchitect.com/subscribe/.

By subscribing, you agree to the following privacy policy:

  • Brick Architect will send periodic emails about new articles, preview content, updates to exclusive content like the LEGO Brick Labels and LEGO Storage Guide, and other content we think will be interesting to fans of LEGO and Architecture.
  • Brick Architect will do everything we can to protect your email address and your privacy.
  • Brick Architect may target emails based on information about you such as your region or interests.
  • Brick Architect will not share your email address with other companies.
  • You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of every email we send.

If you have any questions about the newsletter or our privacy policy, please email tom@tomalphin.com for more info.