Lego has been an inspiration of mine since the first day I put my hands on a brick - mid 70's. I still work and play with all my original pieces. Although there was that fateful day Mom dumped all the pieces into one huge bin and tossed the boxes (and instructions.) Still hurts a little. Ironically enough what better way to inspire imagination and creativity than starting with nothing more than thousands of colourful bricks just waiting to become the next town, space station or Main Street stomping monster from outer space.
So check out Lego House which opened Sept 2017. Located in Billund Denmark, the home of Lego and designed by Bjarke Ingels Group. Ingels describes it as an "experimentarium for the culture of the brick."
According to Ingels, from the start the architectural goal was not to design anything that wasn't immediately buildable in LEGO. The architecture was faithful to the proportions of LEGO and every element within, from artifacts to furniture, is made out of LEGO.
“One of the things we found – this is a coincidence but it is quite remarkable – is that if you scale the two-by-four Lego brick up in elevation to be a 60 centimetres long you get the basic module of almost all architecture in the EU. Everything is divisible by modules of 60. Like cupboards are divided 60 by 60, like ceiling grids, all kinds of modules based on the 60. Then the height of 18 centimetres would be proportionate, and thats the height of a step, or the riser of a staircase. So Lego proportions are really the golden ratio of architecture.”
Included within the space, a centre piece Lego Tree made up of over 6.3 million pieces that tells the brand history in LEGO including the crane atop still constructing the future. And a bunker like Lego Vault that could withstand a nuclear holocaust.
Looks like a trip to Denmark is in order.
What do you think of the building? What are your emotional triggers for the LEGO brand? Do you still play with LEGO?
The website:
https://www.legohouse.com/en-gb
WIRED tours with Bjarke Ingels:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZfnRsYhmMo
A more in-depth look here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Siy1F7fUiY0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.dezeen.com/2014/08/20/lego-golden-ration-of-architecture-big-lego-house-denmark-bjarke-ingels-interview/