Learnings from Home of the Brick

28th September was an important date for both the Lego and Architecture enthusiasts. And since I am both, this date was marked in my calendar as well. What happened? The Lego house designed by BIG was opened. And I was there for the inauguration ceremony.

I arrived before the show, so I had time to explore the building (at least from outside) before it was swarmed by the crowds. I roamed around. I think on that day I walked around the house more than twenty times. Looking at various details, studying the structure. Ceramic cladding, cantilevered volumes, huge windows, terraces and landscaping around.

It is crystal clear that there were so many hours spent on making it just right. So many interesting details. The cladding is flawless, warping around the corners. And it has the right proportions of the lego brick.

The programme started at 1 o’clock. The mayor opened the square around the Lego House and the choir was singing for a crowd of at least thousand of people.

There were many important people at the grand opening. For most people, the most important were the Prince and Princess of Denmark, or the richest Dane, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the owner of LEGO group. For me, the most important was the architect, Bjarke Ingels.

And there was one important moment I will remember. There was this big pool of 2×4 white bricks for children to build. Sea of whiteness. And it was there for few hours.

And then Bjarke other VIPs stopped by. And Bjarke did something very Bjarke-ish. He had a red 2×4 from the opening ceremony and he threw this one red brick in the ocean of white. Everybody could do that you might think. But they did not. Bjarke did.

And one more observation about the event. There were many people who made it to the opening, more than few thousand. However, I think I was in the minority because I was there because of architecture. In my opinion, most of the people were there because of bricks, children, creativity and fun. The architecture was ‘just’ the stage for this show. And that is right. Bjarke did not create a temple for himself, but for the brick and people who like Lego. Architecture does this. It creates places where life happens. And daily life at this place will be anything but ordinary.

See for yourself. The Lego House is opened the whole year and contains many interesting attractions at different zones. I am planning to see the experience zones soon.

Cheers