Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Lego have revealed their collaborative Lego House design in Billund, Denmark. The project arrives as part of an effort to market the city of Billund as the Capital for Children.
Spanning 129,170 square feet and ascending more than 75 feet, the Lego House comprises 21 overlapping blocks installed like individual buildings to frame a 21,530-square-foot Lego square that is illuminated through the cracks and space between each volume. Designed as an urban cave, the column-free plaza serves as a public social hub as well as a shortcut through the structure. The space also accommodates a café, restaurant, Lego store, and conference facilities. Overlooking the plaza, a series of color-coded galleries overlap to establish a sequence of exhibitions that also deliver a journey through the color spectrum.
Internal floors maintain individual color themes, designating spaces for creativity, cognition, socialization, and emotional reflection. Illuminated via eight circular skylights, the Masterpiece Gallery crowns the property with a collection Lego fans’ beloved creations that pays homage to the brand and its community. The History Collection on the lower level provides visitors with an immersion into the Lego archives, highlighting the brand’s story. Outfitted beneath Lego Square is the Vault, which showcases the first edition of nearly every Lego set ever created.
“Lego House is a literal manifestation of the infinite possibilities of the Lego brick. Through systematic creativity, children of all ages are empowered with the tools to create their own worlds and to inhabit them through play,” explains BIG founding partner Bjarke Ingels. “At its finest, that is what architecture and Lego play‚ is all about: enabling people to imagine new worlds that are more exciting and expressive than the status quo, and to provide them with the skills to make them reality. This is what children do every day with Lego bricks.”
