Over a five-day period last month, as part of the Milan Expo 2015 in Italy, a slim tower made from more than 500,000 Lego bricks rose to 35 meters (114.8 feet), setting a new Guinness World Record as the tallest structure built with those familiar acrylic bricks.
Denmark-based Lego Group donated 7 Euros (US$7.752) for every centimeter of the tower to Urban Oasis, an urban protection and development project connected with the World Wildlife Fund.
That tower offered one more example of the role that Legos have played in the worlds of construction and creativity since the company’s founding in 1932. Last month, Lego Group, the company that makes the toy bricks, established its Lego Sustainable Materials Centre, and announced that it would invest 1 billion Danish Krone (US$148 million) for research, development, and implementation of sustainable raw materials to make Lego bricks and packaging.
In the documentary, Bjarke Ingels—whose eponymous firm is based in Copenhagen, Denmark—notes that, because of its harsh climate and high labor wages, much of what gets built in that country must be prefabricated to shorten the construction time.
The company has also teamed with Warner Bros., Interactive Entertainment, and TT Games to release an interactive video game that allows players to use Lego building sets digitally to build and create “wherever their skills and imagination roam,” says its press release.
“Our goal is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow,” said Lego Group’s owner Kjeld Kristiansen. “We believe that our main contribution to this is through the creative play experiences we provide to children.”
On July 31, a documentary film called "A Lego Brickumentary" will be released in the United States. Its narrator, the actor Jason Bateman, says it’s a story “about a simple toy and how its unique properties ushered in a new era of creativity for a whole generation.”
Along with a host of inventors and toy aficionados, the film interviews such Lego lovers as Facebook’s cofounder Mark Zuckerberg and Houston Rockets’ center Dwight Howard. Also featured prominently is starchitect Bjarke Ingels, who recounts how he won one of his first commissions by designing a model using Legos.
In the documentary, Ingels—whose eponymous firm is based in Copenhagen, Denmark—notes that, because of its harsh climate and high labor wages, much of what gets built in that country must be prefabricated to shorten the construction time. “In a manner of speaking, Denmark has become a country entirely built out of Legos,” he says in a clip of the film that Wired magazine posted on its site.
The Lego Group chose Ingels’ firm to design its Lego House, a 12,000-sm (129,167-sf), 23-meter-tall educational center in Billund, Denmark, whose purpose, in Kristiansen’s words, is “give us the opportunity to show how children learn through Lego play, and at the same time we can tell the Lego history in an involving way which reflects our values. Lego House is scheduled to open next year, but in the interim Lego Group will send a 1:100 scale model to six different fan events around the world. The model—built from 18,000 Lego bricks, of course—was seen by about 20,000 people who recently attended the largest Lego fan exhibition in Switzerland.
Related Stories
| Jan 31, 2014
LEGO, Google partner to develop 3D modeling tool for LEGO structures
The free tool, called Build, allows Chrome users to create virtual 3D structures using any shape and color in the LEGO catalog.
| Jan 30, 2014
See how architects at NBBJ are using computational design to calculate the best views on projects [video]
In an ideal world, every office employee would have a beautiful view from his or her desk. While no one can make that happen in real life, computational design can help architects maximize views from every angle.
| Jan 15, 2014
6 social media skills every leader needs
The social media revolution—which is less than a decade old—has created a dilemma for senior executives. While its potential seems immense, the inherent risks create uncertainty and unease.
| Jan 12, 2014
CES showcases innovations: Can any of these help you do your job better?
The Consumer Electronics Show took place this past week in Las Vegas. Known for launching new products and technologies, many of the products showcased there set the bar for future innovators. The show also signals trends to watch in technology applicable to the design and building industry.
| Jan 12, 2014
5 ways virtual modeling can improve facilities management
Improved space management, streamlined maintenance, and economical retrofits are among the ways building owners and facility managers can benefit from building information modeling.
| Dec 31, 2013
Top 10 blog posts from 2013
BD+C editors and our contributors posted hundreds of blogs in 2013. Here's a recap of the most popular topics. They include valuable lessons from one of the first BIM-related lawsuits and sage advice from AEC legend Arthur Gensler.
| Dec 31, 2013
BD+C's top 10 stories of 2013
The world's tallest twisting tower and the rise of augmented reality technology in construction were among the 10 most popular articles posted on Building Design+Construction's website, BDCnetwork.com.
| Dec 17, 2013
IBM's five tech-driven innovation predictions for the next five years [infographics]
Smart classrooms, DNA-based medical care, and wired cities are among the technology-related innovations identified by IBM researchers for the company's 5 in 5 report.
| Dec 16, 2013
Is the metal building industry in a technology shift?
Automation is the future you can’t avoid, though you may try. Even within the metal building industry—which is made up of skilled tradesmen—automation has revolutionized, and will continue revolutionizing, how we work.
| Dec 10, 2013
16 great solutions for architects, engineers, and contractors
From a crowd-funded smart shovel to a why-didn’t-someone-do-this-sooner scheme for managing traffic in public restrooms, these ideas are noteworthy for creative problem-solving. Here are some of the most intriguing innovations the BD+C community has brought to our attention this year.
