One question that LEGO fans new to the modular building-era of LEGO often ask is “which are the best LEGO modular buildings to start with?”.

“Modular Buildings is a series of Lego building toy sets introduced in 2007. Created in response to feedback and suggestions from the Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL), and the Teen Fans of Lego (TFOL) community, the sets in this series are generally intended for more advanced builders with most sets containing more than 2,000 total pieces and making use of unorthodox building techniques which have not been tried before in official Lego sets.” – Wikipedia

Check out this video to find out what we consider the best modular buildings to start with:

There have been 13 official sets released to date. But, I personally consider the LEGO Ninjago City (70620) a modular building even though some do not. It uses only one standard 32 x 32-stud base plate and can be set as a corner build. So, I will include Ninjago City in this discussion. Check out how I integrated this set into my LEGO city HERE.

Be sure to check out our latest LEGO city update to see how the best modular buildings are set in a custom LEGO city:

This discussion focuses on the LEGO sets currently still available from the primary market (LEGO stores or certified LEGO stores). These sets include:

• Pet Shop (10218)
• Palace Cinema (10232)
• Parisian Restaurant (10243)
• Detective’s Office (10246)
• Brick Bank (10251)
• Assembly Square (10255)
• Ninjago City (70620)

It is still possible to find the Grand Emporium (10211) and Town Hall (10224) at some certified LEGO stores but I will not include them in this discussion.

The Downtown Diner set (10260) is not included in this article/ video as it was not released yet at the time of publication.

Grand Emporium (10211) and Town Hall (10224)

There are different factors that determine which set might be “better” than others. These include price, space and personal preference. So, really, there is not best set although there might be a best set for you.

The modular buildings cost between US$160 – US$300 but all are built on a standard 23 x 32-stud base plate.

LEGO Modular Buildings

Here are my recommendations to help you make a decision on which is the best LEGO modular building for YOU.

LEGO Modular Buildings Under US$200

If you are looking for just a single set under US$200, I recommend either the Detective’s Office (10246) or Brick Bank (10251). Both these builds are detailed and fun to build. There are different aspects of parts of the building to make it interesting. The interiors are also detailed which make for a novel build. Most of the older sets do not come with detailed interiors.

Detective’s Office (10246)

Brick Bank (10251)

If budget is not an issue, I recommend the Assembly Square or Ninjago City (70620).

Assembly Square is the 10th Anniversary set celebrating 10 years of the modular building series. It takes elements of all the different sets from the previous decade and plays homage to each set in some way. This makes for a very interesting build with many different techniques used throughout the build.

Ninjago City (70620) (while not an official modular building) is a proper building. It is the latest building released by LEGO as of this writing and is the tallest set they have released. It contains many different aspects of a building that all use different techniques to build that make it very interesting.  It has a very specific Asian-inspired theme to the build so you may either love it or hate it.

Assembly Square

Ninjago City (70620)

Mini LEGO Block or City

If you want to make a city block, you will need at least 2 corner buildings to create this block. Corner buildings include Brick Bank, Palace Cinema and Ninjago City. An argument can be made that Parisian Restaurant can be a corner building due to its Al Fresco balcony restaurant seating. I personally use the Parisian Restaurant as a corner building in my city as it overlooks my beach.

I recommend getting the Brick Bank and Ninjago City if you want to make a 2-building corner block.

Brick Bank & Ninjago City

If you do not like the Ninjago City, you replace it with the Parisian Restaurant.

Brick Bank and Parisian Restaurant

If you are into the Asian-theme, you can set the Palace Cinema with the Ninjago City as I do in my city.

Palace Cinema and Ninjago City in my LEGO City

Medium to Large City Block or LEGO Town

If you want, you can add a building or two in-between two corner buildings. I highly recommend the Assembly Square or Detective’s Office in between the Brick Bank and Ninjago City.

Ninjago City, Detective’s Office and Brick Bank

Ninjago City, Assembly Square and Brick Bank

If you want to create a long city block, I would add the Assembly Square, Detective’s Office in between the Brick Bank and Ninjago City.

Ninjago City, Assembly Square, Detective’s Office and Brick Bank

Here are few other alternate layouts:

Brick Bank, Detective’s Office and Parisian Restaurant

Brick Bank, Pet Shop and Parisian Restaurant

Check out this useful article on What the Minimum Space for a LEGO City.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think is the best LEGO modular building.