Hey, Lego fans! Do you have $800 to spare and an affinity for Catholicism and/or adventurous architecture? If so, then boy do we have news for you.
This week Lego announced what will be its largest set ever—in terms of piece count, at least—and it’s a replica of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. The set will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the death of Antoni Gaudí, the visionary Catalan architect who designed the church; he died in 1926 at 73 years of age after being hit by a tram.
The Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, to give the church its full name, has been under construction for well over a century. The first stone was laid in 1882, and 144 years later, the structure remains incomplete, although a major milestone was passed this year with the completion of the central Jesus Christ spire, which at 127.5m (566 feet) is the tallest of the building’s 18 spires. This also made the Sagrada Família the world’s tallest church.
There’s no concrete date for the completion of the remaining work, although some estimates suggest that it will be done in the mid-2030s. If so, that’d mean the church would be done 150 years, give or take, since Gaudí assumed official responsibility for the project in 1884: the original plans were the work of another architect, Francesco de Paula del Villar, who resigned from the project shortly after construction started because of a dispute with the local council.
On replacing del Villar, Gaudí reworked the original plans radically, imposing his signature style and expanding the scope of the project. It was clear from the beginning that the church would take a long time to build; Gaudí himself apparently noted wryly that “my client isn’t in any hurry.”
The Lego version could well take almost as long to build: it will feature a whopping 12,060 pieces, and the completed model stands over two feet high. It arrives in stores this November, although if you’re super eager to get hold of it, Lego is accepting pre-orders right now.
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