Three generations of the Lego Group’s owner family laid the foundation stones for the new 12,000m2 Lego experience centre, which is being built in Billund, Denmark.
“For my family and me, the Lego Group has always been much more than just a company and our products more than just products. I am very passionate about play and how children learn through playing with Lego bricks. This is essentially the Lego idea and what the Lego House is all about. I look forward to seeing the long-time dream of having one place where anyone can experience the Lego idea come true,” says Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, grandson of the founder and current Lego Group owner.
The Lego House is decribed as a “hands-on minds-on” experience centre where Lego fans of all ages will be able to come and experiment with Lego bricks, share stories, express their imagination and creativity, and be challenged as Lego builders by meeting other builders from all over the world.
The building is in itself a tribute to the Lego brick, as the architectural shapes are based on it.
Bjarke Ingels, founding partner of BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group and the architect behind the Lego House said: "For me the Lego brick embodies the notion of systematic creativity – that the rigour and rationality of the Lego brick allows children of all ages infinite possibilities to create their own worlds and to inhabit them through play. We have been inspired by the modularity of the Lego brick to create the Lego House. It will appear like a cloud of interlocking Lego bricks that form spaces for exploration and exhibition for its visitors within. On the outside the pile of bricks form the roof of a new covered square as well as a mountain of interconnected terraces and playgrounds."
The building is expected to open for visitors in 2016, and this week’s ceremony marked the official start of the construction phase. When construction of the Lego House is completed, a gigantic Lego brick will sit on top of the 23m-tall building.
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