Lego’s bright new home
Lego’s new home is inspired by the iconic brick toy and offers entertainment for the young and young at heart
IT LOOKS like something you’d unpack from a kit at Christmas: a cute house made up of colourful interlocking bricks. Except this is no toy. It’s big, it’s bold – and it’s the new home of Lego. The Danish toy company’s flagship building opened for business recently and fans of the famous plastic blocks are expected to flock to see the fantastic exhibitions and activities on offer.
The 12 000m² Lego House: Home of the Brick, which was designed and made by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), is situated on the site of a former city hall in Billund, Denmark.
The building, which stands out like a beacon amid its drab urban surroundings, consists of 21 overlapping concrete blocks covered in colourful clay tiles that look like giant Lego bricks.
A large central square – which thanks to clever engineering seems to have no visible signs of support – is open to the public, as well as a few of the terraces that can be reached by means of pixellated staircases that double as auditoriums. The terraces offer panoramic views over the city.
Everywhere the accent is on fun and imagination. The house contains four colour-coded playrooms: red for creative, blue for cognitive, green for social and yellow for emotional skills.
“All activities in the house are related to our Lego philosophy,” says Jesper Vilstrup, Lego House CEO. “And that is that
‘Learning through play promotes innovation and creativity’
learning through play promotes innovation and creativity.”
TAKING pride of place is the gigantic 15m Tree of Creativity, comprising more than six million Lego bricks in variegated colours. For Lego geeks there’s an exhibit of the company’s history on the lower levels as well as the first edition of almost every Lego set ever made. At the top of the house is the Masterpiece Gallery, a curated collection of the best creations made by Lego fans. The gallery’s proportions are the same as that of a Lego brick and the eight skylights resemble its studs.
If you’re feeling hungry there are three eateries to choose from: the Brickaccino Café, Mini Chef and Le Gourmet.
At Brickaccino the menu board – which is made of Lego, naturally – contains references to the Lego Movie and you can order items from an “Everything is Awesome” smoothie to “Overpriced Coffee”.
At family restaurant Mini Chef you build your order with Lego bricks, feed it into a screen then sit back and watch animated Lego figures “assemble” your order.
Your food is then delivered to you on a conveyor belt in a cute Lego lunchbox.
Le Gourmet is for those with deep pockets, with four-course lunches and six-course dinners on offer at eye-watering prices.
You can also indulge in a Lego “universe experience”, which comprises “bubbles, snacks, wine, coffee and petits fours”. That will set you back about $195 (R2 632,50).
The new attraction should be a nice little earner for Lego, with more than 250 000 visitors expected to visit each year. And those who make the effort to get there can get their hands on an exclusive architecture kit of the house which is only available in the store.
Admission to the terrace, square, restaurants and store is free but entrance to the experience zones costs $31 (R418,50). Lego lovers, best start saving!