Minecraft and Architecture: How the Iconic Game Transforms Sir John Soane’s Museum into a Virtual Academy
Sir John Soane’s Museum has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Minecraft Education. The collaborative project brings together a 21st-century phenomenon with the legacy of one of Britain’s most influential architects. The educational program will allow students to study key artefacts from the museum’s collection, as well as elements of the Pantheon, the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, and the Hypostyle Hall of Seti I. After their virtual journey through ancient civilisations, students will return to Soane’s Model Room in London, where they can create their own architectural projects, applying the knowledge they’ve gained.
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Minecraft first launched in 2009, created by Swedish programmer Markus Persson. Since then, the game has evolved into a global phenomenon with over 350 million copies sold, becoming the best-selling video game in history. The educational version, Minecraft Education, is now used in more than 40,000 schools across 140 countries worldwide.
The essence of the game is both simple and brilliant: players build virtual worlds from cubic blocks, bringing any architectural fantasy to life. This mechanic makes Minecraft an ideal tool for studying architecture and design.
The new educational world titled “Soane’s Portals to the Past” has launched on January 21, 2026. This is Minecraft Education’s first project entirely dedicated to creative thinking, architecture, and design in the AI era.
In the virtual space, a blocky version of Sir John Soane himself will personally guide students on tours, sharing stories about his life, creative process, and collections. Students will be able to explore not only the architect’s house on Lincoln’s Inn Fields but also travel to Ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt through a special game-within-a-game.
Photo: Soane’s Portals to the Past / Sir John Soane’s Museum
In 2024-2025, the museum welcomed over 160,000 visitors, a record-breaking figure. Educational programs engaged more than 2,700 children and young people. Now, thanks to the virtual world, hundreds of thousands of new visitors worldwide will be able to discover Soane’s legacy.
“Minecraft’s gamification of our incredible Museum is a brilliant application of technology to help fulfil Soane’s ambition for his Museum to be an Academy of the Arts, free to all,” noted Will Gompertz, Director of Sir John Soane’s Museum.
Justin Edwards, Director of Learning Experiences at Minecraft Education, emphasised: “Creativity and problem solving are unique human abilities that are in increasing demand from employers. This Minecraft Education world provides a unique opportunity to connect the past with the present to give young people the skills they need to thrive in the increasingly digital world.”
The game was created by British company BlockBuilders and will be available for free on the Minecraft Education website as part of the Microsoft Office 365 Education subscription.
Cover photo: Soane’s Portals to the Past / Sir John Soane’s Museum
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