The Architecture Studio was a Lego set released in 2013. Part of the Lego Architecture line of sets, it was designed to demonstrate different methods and principles of architecture. The set included over 1,200 pieces and came with an instructional guidebook.
The set received divided reviews. While some praised its simplicity, others criticized it, feeling it lacked creative potential.
Description The set, designed to help builders "explore the ideas and principles of architecture", was part of the larger Lego Architecture product line and was intended for those aged 16 and over. The set contained 1210 pieces, all either colored white or transparent. Rather than an instruction manual, it instead came with a guidebook teaching architectural principles. The guidebook, containing over 250 pages, was edited by Christopher Turner and written in collaboration with architectural firms MBH Architects, REX, SOM, Sou Fujimoto Architects, Safdie Architects, and Tham & Videgård Arkitekter.
Kyle Vanhemmert and Gregory Reid of Wired sent copies of the set to Snøhetta, SHoP Architects, and SOM to see what they would build with them. The designs they created included frozen and melted elements.
The set was released on August 1, 2013, and was available for over four years until it was discontinued in December 2017. Before this, it had been available early at Barnes & Noble, where it was the subject of events hosted for builders.
Reception
Oliver Wainwright, writing for The Guardian, felt the set was "limiting" and did not "[encourage] any architectural investigation". They also called the book the set came with "jumbled" and "hastily edited". The Huffington Post felt the set was "beautiful, fun and engaging", but also deemed it unnecessary and designed in a way that tried to distance it from being a toy, stating its creative principles "[did not need] a 272-page book to explain." Both sources noted the product's lack of color was likely chosen to make it more for adults. Michael McNally, brand relations director at the Lego Group, stated the set's use of white gave it a "sketchbook" feel that could "more accurately represent" different styles of architecture.
In contrast, Christopher Hawthorne, writing for the Los Angeles Times, found the set to be "closer in spirit" to older Lego sets, and, spoke positively of its limited color scheme. Harry Wallop of the The Daily Telegraph also spoke positively of the set, feeling that builds made with it "looked like professional models fit for a modern city", although they felt it was overpriced. John Brownlee of Fast Company felt the book and its coverage of architecture was among the highlights of the set, noting it brought to mind "some of the funky, beautifully designed textbooks aimed at [...] kids in the 1970s and 1980s".
Finn Williams and James Haldane, writing for the The Architectural Review, debated the quality of the set, with Williams arguing it was a "welcome step back to basics", being simple yet creative. while in contrast, Haldane argued the set was limiting. References