Build it and they will keep coming

Some of my most enduring Christmas Day memories are of being camped out on the living room floor building my latest LEGO set. Castles, spaceships, farms and more all fell under the same close step-by-step scrutiny, and as the years progressed, the sets got more advanced and I entered the world of pneumatics and battery-powered Technics - I was definitely pretty cutting edge…

Over the years though my enthusiasm inevitably wained, but it has recently been re-ignited by discovering my old sets in the loft, ready to pass on to our children. Although their current building skills might be a step or two down from the heady heights of a full 8862 Backhoe Grader, the fundamentals are still there, and watching their enthusiasm and endless entertainment is just brilliant.

Now whilst LEGO’s classic, timeless design needs no introduction or explanation - especially if current eBay ‘vintage’ prices are anything to go by - having somewhere to tell the LEGO story and enable everyone from ‘vintage’ builders to early adopters to share in the thought-provoking physical magic seems an obvious idea. But what materials and build approach to use? What fundamental values should this building evoke? There really is only one obvious answer - enter the LEGO House, a project in Billund, Denmark (where LEGO coincidentally was invented) to house a gallery and experience centre purely for LEGO.

Now I’m sure that given enough bricks plenty of us would have a good attempt at what a LEGO building should look like, but realising a vision, especially one that so many people the world over will feel ‘part of’, is no small task. However, BIG - the architectural studio behind the LEGO House - have managed to do just that, with a project that not only exudes all the colourful, playful aesthetics that have become synonymous with LEGO on the interior, but also provides a beautifully crafted, white minimalist exterior that hints at the very structural nature of lego itself. A true vision inside and out, and a beautiful considered addition to LEGO the perfectly designed ’toy’ that just keep on giving. Excellent work BIG.

Via minimalissimo.