Sagrada Família LEGO set (I would love to build)

Posted 3 hours ago

I would love to build the Sagrada Família LEGO set. I had the privilege of visiting the church in 2024. It is hard to put the experience into words. I was glad that I was able to linger as long as I wanted to. It was such a beautiful space that you don’t want to leave. The pictures I have do not do it justice.

I started seeing rumors that LEGO was going to release this set months before they officially announced it. I have recently seen videos of others who built it. They must have received early sets from LEGO since the set does not go on sale until November.

I love to build things. I loved building LEGO when I was younger (mostly the Classic Space series). I enjoyed building models of my architecture projects when I was in college. I built several sets for my son was he was younger and helped him build sets as he got older. I have enjoyed rebuilding some of my older sets and rebuilt one of my son’s sets that he sold to me last year.

I realized that front-end development was the sweet spot for my career because the part of the process I enjoyed much was the build. Earlier in my career, I both designed and built websites. But the building (and crafting) part was what truly made me come alive. I still love building websites and webpages today and am incredibly grateful that I found a place to continue doing that after being unemployed for a year in 2024.

I still love to build LEGO and this would be an incredible model to build. There are a lot of different reasons that I would love to build this set:

• I studied and got my degree in architecture. Although I never practiced it, I love the subject and still love seeing beautifully crafted buildings.
• Gaudi was one of my favorite architects from studying architectural history. I also enjoyed visiting and touring Casa Batlló while in Barcelona in 2024.
• This is one of the few LEGO architectural buildings that I have experienced in person. I love LEGO and have wanted to build an architectural modal for a long time. I think the Trevi Fountain and the Colosseum are the only other sets of a work that I have seen in person. I have considered buying the Tower Bridge in the past (not seen in person), though I would much rather have the Chain Bridge (Lanchíd) from Budapest, which is my favorite bridge.
• Sagrada Família is one of my favorites of the buildings that I have visited. As I mentioned, it is hard to put the experience into words. I hope that I have another opportunity to visit and experience it in my lifetime.
• I love Gothic cathedrals and love that Gaudi started a modern day cathedral in the same tradition. He knew that the work would continue past his lifetime and so he trained others and equipped others to carry on the work.
• It is such an incredible space. I know that I would enjoy the experience of building this model of a building that I love so much.
• I love the detail of this model. You can build the interior and see the columns and the stain glass windows. There is a lot of detail “hidden” in this model that is only revealed as you slide different sections of the model apart. I love that they built the model this way so that you could enjoy this interior details.
• Barcelona has a special place in my heart. My son had the privilege of living there for four months while participating in a study abroad program at Elisava Barcelona School of Design and Engineering. Sagrada Família is such an important landmark to this city.
• I am a craftsman at heart. I appreciated so much more about the craftsmanship of this building when we visited and then toured the underground museum. We got to see the tools that were used to sculpt the building. I was able to see many of Gaudi’s models. And saw many 3D printed models of the completed building.
• I read a biography about the founder of LEGO, Ole Kirk Christiansen. I was inspired by his testimony of Christian faith and perseverance through many setbacks in his business ventures. I also was inspired by his view that “play” is an essential part of life and his commitment to high-quality craftsmanship.

I don’t expect that I will ever get to build this. The price tag is a little bit steep for me. Not sure I can justify this “luxury” expense. I think it would be a really enjoyable build. But it is hard to think about spending that chunk of money on something when there are other life expenses to consider and retirement/healthcare costs in our future. And I would much rather spend that money to help buy a ticket to take a trip to see and experience the real thing or travel somewhere else like Budapest than to spend money on this LEGO set. Maybe God will surprise me. I did pray about it and tell him that I would love to build this. It was not a vending machine kind of prayer but an honest surrender of the desire to Him. It is in His hands and I don’t have to try to figure out how to make it work. But a boy can dream.