Building a Simple Tower
Place a baseplate on a flat, sturdy surface. A LEGO baseplate is a flat piece covered in studs so you have a starting point for your tower. Lay the baseplate on a flat and sturdy surface like a large table so it does not move around once you start building on it. Be careful if you are building on the floor. Sometimes, heavy footsteps are all it takes for a tower to topple. Baseplates come in many colors, from green to blue to grey. If you want to build your tower on “cement,” use a grey baseplate.
Use square and rectangular bricks at least 2 studs wide. If the bricks are wider, your tower will be sturdier as it increases in size. 2x2 and 2x4 bricks work perfectly for building exterior walls for your tower, but you can experiment with any size you’d like.
Build 4 walls that are the same length. Attach bricks to the baseplate to form a foundation for your tower. These will be your ground floor exterior walls, so outline how big you want your tower to be. A smaller base will use fewer bricks, but the tower will be less sturdy the taller you make it. A larger base will use more bricks, but will make it sturdier as it grows taller. Using the same color for your whole tower will make it look uniform or you can mix and match bricks to have a multicolored building!
Stagger where the seams meet as you build taller. If you stack the same piece in line with the piece below it, you line up the seams. When the seams are lined up, the tower will be less sturdy and more likely to collapse when you make it taller.
Avoid building interiors to save bricks. While it may be nice to have separate floors inside of your tower, it will only use more bricks in the end and cost more money. Not many people besides yourself will see inside of the tower. Use the extra pieces to build your tower taller.
Taper or expand the top of your tower. Many towers and skyscrapers start to taper as they reach the top. If you want to have a similar effect with your LEGO tower, attach one brick to another so 1 stud is exposed on the exterior. If you want your tower to look more like a castle, build the bricks outwards by leaving 1 stud exposed on the interior of the tower.
Give your tower some decorations. Once you’ve finished building the basics of your tower, you can get creative by adding your own touches. Make it unique! Does your tower have antennae or satellite dishes? Do you want to add gargoyles or clear studs to simulate lights? Look at pictures of towers to see what you can incorporate.
Constructing a Complex Tower
Create a uniquely shaped base for your tower. Rather than making a square tower, create a different shape for the base. Take inspiration from real blueprints or create a shape entirely your own! Set up a base with blocks 2 studs wide to help you plan the entire structure. You can build complex towers like the Eiffel Tower by stacking blocks from the corner of a baseplate towards the center like a pyramid.
Incorporate doors and windows. If you want your building to have a more realistic look to it, it will need to leave room to add doors and windows. Leave these areas empty or use the specific pieces for them if you have them. Take inspiration from real buildings. Most buildings alternate between columns and windows as you build them up. You can always skip adding these if you are only looking to build the tower for height.
Build the walls with different shaped pieces. Keep adding blocks to the exterior wall, but use archways, sloped bricks, and different colored blocks to add variety. Your tower can look however you want to. As you experiment with pieces, support your tower as you attach them so it doesn’t fall over. Individual pieces can be purchased on the official LEGO online store.
Decorate your tower with your own finishing touches. Give your tower overhangs or decor with whatever pieces you have leftover. If the tower is based on a real building, what details are you missing from your build? Give your flower a flowered walkway up to the doors. Put a lightning rod on top of the tower for extra height and decoration.
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