April 30, 2022. – Updated the article to reflect that LEGO Certified Professionals are no longer allowed to create custom sets. Added ‘Trondheim Skyline’ by Rocco Buttliere, which was created for 2022 På Kloss Hold convention.
(The appendix includes a complete list of changes and corrections.)

NOTE: This guide is a work in progress. If you find mistakes or know about additional LEGO Architecture kits I should include in this guide, please send me an email!

Sets by LEGO Certified Professionals

LEGO Certified Professionals can buy large quantities of LEGO bricks direct from the factory in order to build massive commissioned LEGO projects. These are typically corporate sponsored events celebrating a new product, or an art installation.

Prior to about 2020, LEGO Certified Professionals were allowed to create custom LEGO kits as a part of their commissions. There were a lot of restrictions on what they were allowed to create, but based on what I’ve learned, they could produce up to 500 kits based on a single design and were allowed to use the LEGO Certified Professional logo on the sets they create. Because the complete LEGO Certified Professional logo includes a small version of the iconic red LEGO logo, the sets appear to have the official LEGO logo.

This list was inspired by a much longer list containing all known LEGO Certified Professional sets which you can see at http://minifigpriceguide.com.

Bright Bricks / Duncan Titmarsh

Bright Bricks is a prolific LEGO team based in Hampshire, UK. They have done a ton of commissioned projects with large global brands like Land Rover, Warner Brothers, and GE. Based on photos of the Bright Bricks team, it looks like they have more than 25 people working on a wide variety of LEGO projects. (According to their Instagram account, they are the world’s largest independent LEGO company—easy to believe when you see the quantity of projects they’ve done and the scale of many of these projects!)

The majority of their creations are large-scale models to promote global brands, but they have also done numerous fundraising partnerships, especially with Cathedrals across the UK—you will see many of the LEGO kits they designed below.

Most of the Bright Bricks kits include a four-digit Serial Number (I can only assume the first kit they designed is Serial Number 0001.) They are sorted roughly chronologically.

Leadenhall Building

This is a very unusual building, artfully re-created using only 566 LEGO bricks. This is one that I’d really love to have an opportunity to build!

Ravenel Bridge

400 copies of this set based on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge were commissioned to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the bridge. They apparently sold out very quickly.

Ashford Castle Hotel

The Gherkin

The Gherkin is a famous building in London due to its round, pickle-like form. The building’s official name is ’30 St Mary Axe’. This set by Bright Bricks attempts to capture the building’s shape, and twisted pattern, but looks like a cylinder to me. There is very little information and only low-resolution images of this set available online.

Tyne Bridge

This is a massive LEGO kit based on the iconic bridge. With 3001 pieces, it is the largest LEGO Certified Professional set that I’m aware of.

Brick Architect reader Daan forwarded me an email from 61side.co.uk explaining why only 300 sets were produced:
“There was originally meant to be 500 LEGO Tyne Bridge sets, but we’ve been told by Bright Bricks that isn’t possible now because of their licensing with LEGO so it will be capped at 300, as they are the UK’s only LEGO Certified company we have to respect this update at this stage…”

Durham Cathedral

Bright Bricks created three sizes of LEGO model based on Durham Cathedral.

Small Version

Medium Version

The serial number is listed as “2015” which I suspect is a printing error. The packaging is identical to the larger kit, so suspect they were created at the same time.

Large Version

Chester Cathedral

Bright Bricks has built several models for Chester Cathedral.

In addition to the following two models, they also created a brick-built re-creation of “The water of Life” sculpture (1002 pieces, Serial # 0056.)

Cathedral Building

Chester Cathedral is a large cathedral in Chester, England. Like many great cathedrals, it was built over several hundred years, which is why it contains a blend of earlier Romanesque architectural styles and latter Gothic styles.

It is artfully captured in this model by Bright Bricks, which appears to be a faithful re-creation of the building’s overall form and proportions. (The choice of using Reddish-brown bricks for the exterior isn’t a bad choice, but I think dark tan would be a better match—assuming that all of the required pieces are available in that less common color.)

Chester Cathedral Organ

While not strictly architecture, this beautifully designed organ is an excellent piece of interior design!

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Jubilee Tower

This is a smaller-scale model of the 25,000 piece LEGO replica being built as a fundraiser by the Rotary Club of Darwen. They aim to raise £25,000 by asking a £1 donation per brick!

Exeter Cathedral

Two LEGO models based on Exeter Cathedral have been re-created by Bright Bricks. The first version includes only the cathedral itself, while the second version adds the outbuildings. (Chapter House, Church House, Cloisters, Bishop’s Palace.)

First Edition

Second Edition

St. Botolph’s

This set contains over 1000 pieces, but volunteers also created a 100,000 piece re-creation of the Parish as a fundraiser.

St. Edmundsbury Cathedral

Small Version

I am extremely pleased with the creative use of parts in this set. This includes the undersides of 1×1 Plate with tooth (Part #49668), and 1×2 Plate with 3 teeth (Part #15208) to mimic intricate Gothic arches using a very small number of parts.

Large Version

Amazings / Dirk Denoyelle

Amazings is a talented team of six full-time staff (soon to be 7), and a network of supplying artists. They are based in Flanders, Belgium.

Their tagline is great… “Art and events with LEGO bricks” This is a great summary, since they seem to do a mix of commissioned LEGO models and LEGO art, a wide range of events including Team-building sessions, as well as creating LEGO models for promotional purposes like the ones featured below.

Over the years, they have created a diverse selection of architectural kits, ranging from highly detailed architectural models for consumers, to technically minded kits aimed at industry insiders.

Hilton Paris Opera

This is probably the most iconic LEGO Certified Professional architecture set ever created. It was only available for a very short time due to the small production run.

The model is beautifully detailed, matching the intricate details and style of official sets like #10253 Big Ben from the LEGO Creator Expert series.

Concertgebouw

Amazings does a great job capturing the iconic shape of this Concert Hall using just 185 pieces.

Ronald McDonald House

This model was created to celebrate the opening of the first Ronald McDonald House in Belgium in 2019. It is compatible with Modular Building Series with Technic pins at the same position as the official sets.

Translated quote auction at 2dehands.be: “Rare exclusive limited edition as a result of the first Belgian Ronald McDonald house that opens in May 2019 on the premises of the UZ Brussel campus Jette.”

Stadsmuseum Gent

This is a simple model built using just white and clear bricks (in the style of the LEGO Architecture Studio set.) The most unique thing about the set is the packaging—it’s packed in a cool red cylinder that you might expect to contain a rolled-up poster.

Hilton Hotels

The following two sets were never made available to the public. The kits weren’t made to look fancy because they were designed to help explain modular building concepts.

Dirk explained that: “Entire hotels are being built like that” where each stackable container “contains two rooms and a part of the hallway in between them. Those are built in one place … then shipped to destination where they are literally stacked together. Amenities are connected, a facade is risen, and there is the new hotel.”

This is a great example of how custom LEGO kits can be used to help tell a story, even when the audience is employees instead of the general public.

Hampton by Hilton Hotel

The first of the two models highlights how a hotel can be quickly assembled from shipping container modules using a tall crane. It’s quite a clever model. For a review of the set with construction photos, see this article on Doktor Brick (German).

Hilton Garden Inn

Innova Network Commemorative Hospital

Also aimed at employees instead of the general public, these sets were given out at the 21st anniversary of The Innova Group, on May 2nd, 2016.

Raadhuis Hilversum

This model can be purchased at the Dudok Architectuur Centrum (Architecture Center) in Hilversum, Netherlands. It is not a boxed set. This is what I learned when I emailed Dudok Architectuur Centrum: “It is a Make and Take: people who enroll in the workshop (monitored by Dirk Denoyelle), can make one and then take it home with them. Therefore it comes in a simple ziploc bag.”

Adam Reed Tucker

Adam is a former LEGO Certified Professional best known for creating the official LEGO Architecture series by convincing LEGO Executives to create a separate product line aimed exclusively at adult builders. He has also built a lot of large-scale LEGO Architecture models which can be seen in museum gallery exhibitions.

Ebay Inc. University Programs

This unusual kit is not just one set, but a series of seven sets which allow you to build several LEGO architecture models as part of a small city. It looks like the small clear cylinders are expansion kits to further decorate your city.

Quoting the ebay listing: “City Base & Graduate Set 318 Pcs, Cyclery 86 Pcs, Cinema 137 Pcs, Street Lights Set, Traffic Signals Set, 3 Cars Set, Food Stand & Bicycle Set”

LEGO models by Matija Puzar

Matija is a LEGO Certified Professional in Norway. I have been unable to find very many custom LEGO kits that he has designed.

More info at www.matija.no

Stortingsbygningen

The Storting building is home of Norway’s Parliament, which is located in Oslo, Norway. This LEGO set was created to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the building’s completion.

Stortingsbygningen by Matija Puzar (Photo: Stortinget)

Location: Oslo, Norway
Artist: Matija Puzar
Year: 2016
Number of pieces: ?
Number of sets: ?
More info: minifigpriceguide.com, brikkelauget.no forum

Nicholas Foo

Nicholas is a LEGO Certified Professional in Singapore. According to one of the articles I found about the Istana model, all of this previous model kits were giveaways rather than available for sale.

Nicholas does not have a website, but you can find a little info at lego.com

The Istana

The Istana is the President of Singapore’s Home. It was artfully re-created in LEGO, and sold as a fundraiser commemorating the 150th anniversary of the buildings completion.

BrickFabrik / Rene Hoffmeister

IKEA Dresden

350 copies of this LEGO Model were created for 15th anniversary of the IKEA furniture store in Dresden (in August, 2016). They were given to IKEA employees as a small thank you.

Unofficial sets by LEGO Artists

While only 14 LEGO artists are lucky enough be Certified Professionals, there are many other talented LEGO builders who have created custom kits of their own.

This presents one huge disadvantage—They can’t buy bulk LEGO bricks directly from the factory. That said, they are also not restricted to getting their projects approved by The LEGO Group, and aren’t limited to creating just 500 sets.

A few of these models were created by LEGO Artists for Brick Loot, a subscription which sends a box of fun stuff every month, including a custom kit containing genuine LEGO bricks. (Brick Loot has to buy all of the parts from sites like Bricklink, since they aren’t an officially sanctioned LEGO product.)

Rocco Buttliere

Rocco is a talented LEGO Architecture artist based in the Chicago area. Learn more about Rocco’s work at his website: Landscape|Landmark.

Trondheim Skyline

This set was created for the 2022 På Kloss Hold LEGO Convention in Trondheim, Norway. It is inspired by the official LEGO Architecture Skylines series, although it rests on a deeper base than the official sets.

Copenhagen Skyline

This set was created for the 2018 LEGO World convention. It is inspired by the official LEGO Architecture Skylines series, although it rests on a larger base than the official sets.

This kit was reviewed by Brick Architect! Read the whole review at: brickarchitect.com/2018/review-copenhagen-skyline-by-rocco-buttliere/

Chicago Water Tower

This is an artfully designed microscale model based on the Chicago Water tower by one of the world’s most talented LEGO Skyscraper Artist, Rocco Buttliere. The model’s most unique design feature is the clever use of Brick Yellow (Tan) Technic pins to re-create the stone towers surrounding the real building.

Warren Elsmore

Edinburgh Castle

Warren is a well-known LEGO Artist whose work can be seen in several touring shows, and the author of several LEGO books including Brick City.

I asked Warren to share any details which would be of particular interest to fans of the LEGO Architecture series. He said:
“The main point any architecture fan will notice is that Mons Meg (the famous cannon) is ridiculously out of scale! But you can’t have everything. The main thing I’ve spoken to people about is that Edinburgh Castle is actually not very recognisable if you don’t know it. So building a LEGO set of it that would be recognised was quite hard. We spent a lot of the time on the esplanade (where the Edinburgh Military Tattoo is held) as that’s very well known.”

Hill House

From National Trust for Scotland:
“Budding architects can follow in the footsteps of the great Charles Rennie Mackintosh by building their own Hill House with Lego bricks. The limited-edition model kit comprises more than 300 bricks including an exclusive Hill House printed tile, as well as step-by-step instructions. Mackintosh’s leaded windows are beautifully recreated in printed stickers, and there are plenty of examples of his characteristic design flourishes. It has been created by Edinburgh-based Lego artist Warren Elsmore. ‘It was a challenge to meet the building’s unique architecture, and we hope all those who buy the kit have a really fun time building it,’ says Warren. We’re always excited to work on a Scottish landmark.’”

Warren provided Brick Architect the following additional details about this set:
“Whilst both [this set and Edinburgh Castle] have a custom printed 1×8 tile, this also includes a sticker sheet for the Mackintosh windows. In this model there were so many windows, that spanned so many multiple bricks, that it just wasn’t feasible to print all the bricks.”

Bricksworld Own Creations

These are a few of the custom skylines by the team at bricksworld.eu web store.

Skyline Hamburg

This is a custom set in the style of the LEGO Architecture Skyline series.

Skyline Heerlen

This is a custom set in the style of the LEGO Architecture Skyline series. The Skyline is composed off 4 buildings: Schunck Glasshouse, Pancratius Church, Moonquarter, Royal Cinema.

Other LEGO Artists

Capitol Records Tower

Adam is a freelance LEGO artist, who is also working at Bricksburg on future LEGO films. This model was created as part of Capitol Records 75th Anniversary celebration.

This kit was reviewed by Brick Architect! Read the whole review at: brickarchitect.com/2018/capitol-records-tower-review/

Aarhus City Hall (Rådhus)

From Klaus Algreen: “The set was for sale exclusively at the Byggepladen RLUG Klodsfest 2017 event in Aarhus. Members of Danish RLUG “Byggepladen” could pre-order a set at a special member price.”

This kit was reviewed by Brick Architect! Read the whole review at: brickarchitect.com/2019/review-lego-aarhus-radhus/

New Central Library, Alberta, Canada.

There is both a Small and Large version of this model, both designed to be sold as a fundraiser for the Calgary Public Library. (Box, instruction, and sticker by Matthew Leadbeater.)

Large version

Ben Stephenson is a local LEGO artist in the Alberta area. He designed the larger of the two models listed here. He also built an amazingly detailed 100,000 piece model of the building to help build excitement for the new Library—it won’t be completed until 2018.

Small version

To the best of my understanding, this model and the custom stickers were designed by Matthew Leadbeater.

@ Home

This is a custom model I designed for Brickloot based on contemporary trends in architecture towards bold projecting volumes, rectangular forms, and bright colors. Although the model uses colored bricks, it was designed to be an extension to the simple models in my book The LEGO Architect.

The Oklahoma Series

Oklahoma LEGO Architecture enthusiasts Ricardo Montoya has re-created numerous Oklahoma City landmarks using LEGO bricks. His style is tied to the simplicity of the official LEGO Architecture Studio set, preferring White and Clear LEGO bricks. This allows his models to focus on pure architectural forms.

Ricardo has made five of his designs available as kits. The hand-packed sets contain genuine LEGO bricks and building instructions. You can purchase sets or download building instructions free-of-charge from katyandricardo.squarespace.com/building-kits/

Rüsselsheim Skyline

This set in the style of the LEGO Architecture Skylines series was designed for the Hessentag 2017 event.

NH Hotel Rotterdam

According to specialbricks.nl, this set was released by NH Hotels.

Dayton Art Museum

One of two architecture sets sold by the University of Dayton.

University of Dayton – Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

One of two architecture sets sold by the University of Dayton.

Mannheim Skyline

A limited production skyline set produced by Flix-brix, which was designed by a TFOL (Teen Fan Of LEGO).

Other possible sets

The following sets have not been confirmed to be produced with real LEGO bricks, and it is unknown if they were created by fans, or by a LEGO Certified Professional.

• Intel Robert Noyce Building

Haus der Bürgerschaft (State Parliament of Bremen)

A limited production set which is given as a gift to political guests.

Other possible sets

The following sets have not been confirmed to be produced with real LEGO bricks, and it is unknown if they were created by fans, or by a LEGO Certified Professional.

• Intel Robert Noyce Building

Official Promotional Sets

The LEGO Group creates limited-edition promotional sets from time-to-time. Usually they are sealed polybags or boxes, but in some rare instances they are hand-packed in a ziploc-style bag with printed instructions. They are often region-specific exclusives, celebrating an event or store opening. (They are rare enough that it is hard to prove that they are officially sanctioned sets.)

Singapore Changi Airport

This set was created as a special gift-with-purchase at the LEGO Pop-up store for a few months in 2019 at the Changi Airport T3 LEGO Store. It is a very small model at just 105 pieces, but faithfully captures the spirit of the Control Tower in a minimaist style comparable to models in the LEGO Architecture Skyline Series.

Appendix

Bibliography

I had to do a lot of research to create this guide. These are the main sources:

• Minifig Price Guide. “Articles tagged ‘Certified Professional’.” 2015, ongoing.
  Minifig Price Guide is one of the only LEGO blogs which features a lot of rare LEGO Minifigures and rare LEGO Sets by LEGO Certified Professionals. This was my primary resource in tracking down these unofficial sets.
• The Brick Blogger. “Unique sets by LEGO Certified Professionals.” 2016.
  This is a short list containing some of the known sets by LEGO Certified Professionals. It includes sets across a wide range of themes, not just Architecture.
• Google Doc by Rockmaninoff. “Lego Certified Professional Sets.” 2016, ongoing.
  This document lists all the known LCP sets. (There is also an associated discussion about this document on Reddit and Eurobricks.)

Version History

• April 30, 2022. – Updated the article to reflect that LEGO Certified Professionals are no longer allowed to create custom sets. Added ‘Trondheim Skyline’ by Rocco Buttliere, which was created for 2022 På Kloss Hold convention. (I made a bunch of minor edits throughout the document as well, including organizing the fan models by artist too.)
• February 4, 2021. – Added ‘Singapore Changi Airport’ which is an official LEGO Promotional Set designed by LCP Nicholas Foo. Added ‘Haus der Bürgerschaft’ by Michael Reimann. (Thanks again to Christiaan Beem!)
• January 12, 2021. – Added ‘Mannheim Skyline’ by Bastian.
• January 10, 2021. – Updated ‘Ronald McDonald House’ with purchase link, and confirmation that it is compatible with the Modular Building Series. (Thanks for info from Henk van Mullem.)
• May 27, 2020. – Added BrickLink Studio file for ‘Ikea Dresden’ and unofficial building instructions for ‘Capitol Records Tower’.
• April 1, 2020. – Added ‘Ikea Dresden’ by LEGO Certified Professional Rene Hoffmeister / BrickFabrik. This is the first model by Rene, so I added a short section about him. (Thanks again to Christiaan Beem!)
• March 19, 2020. – Added two sets by Brixilated: ‘Dayton Art Institute’ & ‘Chapel of the Immaculate Conception’. More details about the ‘Raadhuis Hilversum’ which I learned was designed by Dirk Denoyelle. (Thanks to Christiaan Beem for these additions.)
• February 19, 2020. – Added ‘Raadhuis Hilversum’ & ‘NH Hotel Rotterdam’. Added PDF instructions for ‘The Istana’. (Thanks to Christiaan Beem for these additions.)
• August 21, 2019. – Added ‘Edinburgh Castle’ and ‘Hill House’ by Warren Elsmore. (Thanks to Warren for answering my questions about these two sets.)
• August 8, 2019. – Added ‘The Istana’ by Nicholas Foo. (Thanks to Christiaan Beem for telling me about this set.)
• July 10, 2019. – Added ‘Stortingsbygningen’ by Matija Puzar. Added link to Brick Architect review of ‘Aarhus Rådhus’.
• January 5, 2019. – Added ‘Skyline Hamburg’ and ‘Skyline Heerlen’, by Bricksworld Own Creations.
• January 1, 2019. – Updated to reflect that there are only 500 copies of the ‘Capitol Records Tower’ set. (Thanks to Bruce Heller.)
• August 2, 2018. – Added link to Promobricks review of ‘Copenhagen Skyline’ set.
• June 25, 2018. – Added ‘Ronald McDonald House’ by Amazings/Dirk Denoyelle. Added Ebay Inc. University Programs by Adam Reed Tucker.
• June 21, 2018. – Added ‘Copenhagen Skyline’ by Rocco Buttliere, with a link to the Brick Architect review of ‘Copenhagen Skyline’. Added link to Brick Architect review of ‘Capitol Records Tower’. Added ‘Concertgebouw’ by Amazings. Added ‘Rüsselsheim Skyline’ by Erek Weidner. Fixed Formatting issues which caused some photos to appear too large. Corrected quantity of Tyne Bridge sets produced to 300 units. (thanks Daan!).
• December 16, 2017. – Added large and small models of New Central Library (Alberta, Canada) by Ben Stephenson & Matt Leadbeater to the guide.
• December 11, 2017. – I featured a link to this guide to Unofficial LEGO Sets on my homepage, and relevant forums.
• December 6, 2017. – A complete draft of the guide has been written, proofread, and is ready for feedback from my mailing list. (It will be shared on the homepage soon.)