LEGO Modular Buildings Turn 20: 22 Fan Communities, 11.5 Million Elements, One Global Celebration

The modular line has always attracted a particular kind of builder — the sort who clears a whole shelf, plans the streetscape, debates whether the Parisian Restaurant sits better next to the Detective's Office or the Bookshop. So the news that 22 Recognised LEGO Fan Communities are joining forces to celebrate the collection's 20th anniversary in 2027 will land well in those circles.

April 2027 marks twenty years since Café Corner kicked off the Modular Buildings Collection. To be clear: this isn't a product announcement — the 2027 Modular Building set, if there is one, hasn't been revealed. What's been confirmed is an ambitious fan community project on a genuinely enormous scale.

Each community will recreate an iconic modular at roughly four times its original size, using approximately 500,000 LEGO elements per build. Two of the larger efforts push that to around 750,000 elements each. Across all 22 groups, that's approximately 11.5 million elements in total. These aren't display models in the usual sense — they're engineering projects.

The 22 groups span ten countries. In the US: BuffaLUG, Charm City LUG, ColonialLUG, Houston Brick Club, IdahoLUG, Lincoln Omaha LEGO User Group, LUGVegas, and Western Michigan LEGO User Group. Canada sends four — Fraser Valley LUG, Southern Alberta LEGO User Group, ToroLUG, and Vancouver LEGO Club. Four Australian groups are involved: Bendigo LEGO User Group, Canberra LEGO User Group, MUGs, and SYDLUG. The UK's Brickish Association is representing, alongside Byggepladen (Denmark), Bricking Bavaria e.V. (Germany), Fanabriques (France), Seniors Brick (South Korea), and Kansai LEGO User Group (Japan).

MUGs, one of the Sydney-based groups, has already teased their build: an oversized Palace Cinema. Each community gets meaningful creative freedom over how their building comes to life, though they're working to shared standards so the structures can eventually sit side by side and form a coherent street. That's a logistical puzzle as much as a building one.

For the 10th anniversary back in 2017, LEGO marked the occasion with Assembly Square (10255), which remains one of the strongest sets in the line. Whether the Icons team has something comparable in the works for the 20th is still an open question. The most recent additions — 10350 Tudor Corner and the upcoming 11379 Bookstore: Book Nook — suggest the line isn't slowing down.

The builds will start appearing at major fan events and public exhibitions throughout 2027 and into 2028. Where schedules align, multiple buildings will come together in one display — which, if it works out, should be genuinely worth the trip. Following the individual community social media accounts is the practical way to track progress as designs develop over the coming months.

Links: Tudor Corner | Natural History Museum | Bookstore: Book Nook