We first picked up on the rumors in March of this year: LEGO insiders were predicting that the brick construction designers would break their own 12,000-piece record with a set replicating Venerable Antoni Gaudí's Barcelona masterpiece, La Sagrada Família Basilica.
In a press release dated June 4, 2026, LEGO announced the official opening of pre-orders for the set, which goes on sale on November 1. At 12,060 pieces, the set will retail for $799.99 in the U.S., higher than the original $600 estimate. The release is timed to commemorate the centennial of Gaudí's death (which Pope Leo marks during his visit today and tomorrow), during a year dedicated to his artistic legacy.
In a masterpiece move of its own, LEGO has designed the construction of the set to mirror the construction process of the basilica itself, which was begun in 1882 and which Gaudí took over from the original architect the next year. Gaudí worked section by section to bring his soaring vision to reality, but he never saw it completed. He died June 10, 1926, with only one quarter finished, and construction has continued -- interrupted by the Spanish Civil War and slowed by other events -- ever since.
In fact, La Sagrada Família is still incomplete. An inauguration ceremony for the recently topped 564-foot Jesus Christ tower will follow a Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV on June 10 during his visit to Barcelona, but the last section of Gaudí's plan, the Glory façade, is expected to take until 2034.
LEGO wants builders to get an appreciation for what that process is like:
The new set captures the evolving story of Barcelona’s most iconic landmark, with the building steps mirroring the basilica’s actual construction sequence. The build begins with the foundational Apse and Crypt, moves through Gaudí’s original Nativity façade and the dramatic Passion façade, before rising into the grand naves, Western Sacristy and six iconic towers. The final stage brings the model together with the Eastern Sacristy and the Glory façade.
A unique detail of the new LEGO Architecture Sagrada Família set is the design that allows light to shine through the replica's many stained glass windows, reflecting the play of natural light in the basilica that is one of the forest-like interior's most remarkable features.
Not your average stocking stuffer
Although LEGO sets have long been on the wish lists of children and grandchildren, the LEGO Architecture line is designed for serious builders and collectors. It includes meticulously crafted, highly detailed replicas of iconic buildings from around the world (including Notre-Dame de Paris and Rome's Trevi Fountain) intended for study and display.
Builders can make use of LEGO's Builder app to see 3D instructions, track their progress, and save their builds online.
Of the newest addition to the Architecture line, Rok Žgalin Kobe, LEGO Architecture Designer, said:
“We felt an immense responsibility to do justice to the Sagrada Família through this design. Our goal was to honor Gaudí’s vision with the utmost respect, capturing the rhythm of the basilica’s construction, its extraordinary complexity and ambition, and translating that into an immersive building experience. This is not only the largest LEGO set ever, but a model of one of the most ambitious architectural works in the world. Balancing scale and precision, while remaining faithful to a living monument that has been evolving for more than a century, was a unique design challenge – and one we’re incredibly proud of.”
There's still one question remaining from our original report: with LEGO Architecture Sagrada Família available for construction later this year, and the La Sagrada Família itself not expected to be completed until 2034, which will be first to the finish line?
