Building Dreams

Billund Airport in Denmark is a pleasure to pass through by private jet. A new £170 million terminal, which was completed in 2021, means it’s now the second largest in the country after Copenhagen — not that you would notice because, even in the week before Christmas, everything seems so serene. It all fits together perfectly, which is fitting, because Billund Airport only exists because of LEGO.

To manage expectations, it’s not built from plastic bricks – that would be preposterous – but an airstrip was originally established here in 1961 when Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the son of LEGO founder Ole, realised the company was expanding so rapidly it needed its own transport hub. Within three years, it had become a fully-fledged public airport. Today, it handles 3.5 million passengers annually – many of whom are headed for LEGO House.

The House that Lego Built

To manage expectations again, LEGO House isn’t made from plastic bricks either. However, this architectural wonder which dominates the tiny town of Billund (population: 7,307) like a cathedral does contain 25 million of them, waiting for fans of all ages to come and worship.

The purpose of LEGO House is to “learn about life through play”. After all, the word LEGO comes from the Danish phrase ‘leg godt’, which means ‘play well’. The company believes the kids have got it right; it’s us adults who have replaced it with a simplistic view of the world. So, have we got it wrong? I intend to play very well and find out.

Like Billund Airport, LEGO House never feels packed and that’s intentional. Daily visitor numbers are tightly controlled so, when tickets sell out, they’re sold out. That means everyone gets a decent run at the centre’s four experience zones, restaurant (complete with robotic chefs), obligatory LEGO store, Masterpiece Gallery and, in the basement, the History Collection – where my quest begins.

An opportunity to immerse yourself in the LEGO timeline, going from being humble wooden toymakers to a global superbrand, the only thing at play here is the power of nostalgia. A personal favourite fact: the company used to dispose of decommissioned brick moulds by casting them into the concrete foundations of new factories to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands.

Everything is Awesome

With the exception of certain spellbinding builds, most things are hands-on. Even benches have a bin packed to the brim with red bricks attached to them, encouraging you to create at every opportunity.

In the Yellow Zone, visitors can build fish out of bricks and release them into the digital aquarium. The Red Zone features a huge multicoloured waterfall built from 1,968,753 bricks with plenty of room for spontaneous creativity. In the Blue Zone, visitors can program their own robot and send it on a mission to find flowers for bees. I’d call it cute if it wasn’t so challenging, and no AFOL (‘adult fan of LEGO’) wants to be shown up by someone still in kindergarten.

I seek refuge in the Green Zone where, in a nod to LEGO’s wildly successful foray into films, I get the chance to record my own stop-motion movie. My directorial debut, featuring a thrilling speedboat chase down a city high street, isn’t going to win me any Oscars, but I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t left me wanting to explore the creative process further. A certified win, then, and I love the fact the smart wristband given to every LEGO House guest contains a chip allowing you to access your memories from the day after your visit.

Masters at Work

Gazing in wonderment comes with the territory here, but jaw-to-the-floor moments are saved for the Green Zone’s World Explorer section, with insanely intricate giant brick-built displays of real-world scenes. I spend a good hour studying skyscrapers, sports stadiums, minifigures in mountain mineshafts and Darth Vader sunbathing. Even Sith Lords need downtime.

However, nothing quite prepares you for the Masterpiece Gallery, complete with large-scale Tyrannosaurus Rex models and astonishing amateur builds. Here, 15 LEGO fans hailing from nine countries have been invited to exhibit their personal creations to inspire others. It’s a global affair, with AFOLs from the United States, China, Germany, Vietnam, Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and South Korea.

“Isn’t LEGO House a hard place to describe?” Victoria Worsley, the UK’s sole exhibitor in the current Masterpiece Gallery, asks me. “It’s like a gallery, but it’s also a museum, but it’s also a giant play area. It’s all of these things and it’s an amazing place to be.”

“I visited LEGO House as a solo traveller before I was invited to display there and I think sometimes, as an adult, if I can express this, keeping in touch with what are considered childish interests helps you stay mentally young and not lose that sense of fun. Maybe I’m just scared of getting old.”

The mother of two from Manchester began building sets her children had abandoned and now creates intricate scenes with storytelling at their heart. A ’50s diner on display in Billund will hopefully soon be joined by a fully functioning high school complete with unruly students and a fire in the home economics classroom.

Building Something Good

“I got into it because I found it creatively fulfilling and a really mindful activity,” she says. “It’s like a stress release, because you can’t be worried about things when you’re playing with LEGO. Then I started realising that I could create my own builds and found myself sat on the floor playing with these sets. Then you go on the internet and realise you’re not the only adult who’s doing this. There’s a lot of us out there.”

Worsley’s top tip for becoming a LEGO guru? Throw away the instructions… eventually. “It’s a lot of trial and error to find how it works for you, but I get my creative satisfaction from building my own stuff rather than following instructions.

“If you prefer to follow them, there are so many amazing sets that you’re bound to find something that taps into your childhood. But if you want to start really creating, buy a set, build it according to the instructions, then take it apart and try to build something completely different using the same parts. That forces you to use your imagination and think ‘What else could this be?’”

Of course, the only way Masterpiece Gallery entrants can truly be considered the Top Gun of the LEGO world is by being invited back to be an instructor or, in LEGO’s case, a Master Builder. So would Victoria accept the offer if it came her way? “I think I’d be there, but I’d pretend to think about it.” Oh Victoria, how childish.

A Brief History of the Brick

1932: The birth of LEGO

Ole Kirk Christiansen opens a small workshop in Denmark, initially making wooden toys, which would lay the foundation for the LEGO empire.

1947: Plastic revolution

LEGO becomes one of the first companies to purchase an injection-moulding machine, allowing them to start producing plastic toys – marking the birth of the iconic LEGO brick.

1958: The modern LEGO brick

The current design of the LEGO brick, featuring interlocking ‘studs’ and ‘tubes’, is patented by Ole’s son Godtfred, revolutionising construction toys.

1968: LEGOLAND

The first LEGO theme park – LEGOLAND Billund – opens in Denmark, creating a global destination for LEGO fans and further cementing the brand’s legacy.

1978: The minifigure is born

LEGO introduces the beloved minifigure, bringing character and storytelling to LEGO sets and sparking the creation of miniature LEGO worlds.

1998: LEGO Mindstorms

LEGO introduces Mindstorms, combining LEGO with robotics and programming, allowing fans to build and code their own robots.

1999: LEGO Star Wars

LEGO partners with Lucasfilm to create the first LEGO Star Wars sets, blending two of the world’s biggest franchises and ushering in a new era of themed LEGO collections.

2014: The LEGO Movie

The LEGO Movie hits theatres, grossing more than £375 million worldwide and solidifying LEGO’s place in pop culture as a globally beloved brand.

2017: LEGO House

LEGO House opens in Billund, designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingles and constructed from 21 staggered blocks that resemble bricks.