Kengo Kuma backs campaign to turn V&A Dundee into Lego set
A campaign has been launched to turn the V&A Dundee by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma into Lego's first Scottish building set.
The campaign follows the creation of a 2,900-piece model replica of the local landmark by founder of web studio 532 Design Brian McNicoll.
The small-scale replica, which is currently on show within the museum, has been submitted to the Danish toy brand's Ideas platform where people vote for fan-built prototypes to be developed into official sets.
A total of 10,000 supporters are required for the design to be reviewed for production by Lego's board.
If successful, the V&A Dundee would become the first Scottish building in Lego's architecture range.
The campaign is being backed by Kuma, who said the Lego set of the museum, which was his first UK building, would introduce the building to "people all over the world".
"It's an honour to see my building recreated in Lego and I'm impressed with how well Brian has translated the design," the architect said.
"I always wanted the building to be a gate through which the city can connect with the world, reflecting Dundee's once thriving global trade routes on the river," Kuma continued.
"If this design becomes an official Lego set, then people all over the world will be building a Dundee landmark."
Perched on the city's waterfront, the museum was completed by Kuma in 2018 as an outpost of London's V&A museum and has since become a local landmark.
Its structure was designed in reference the city's coastal landscape and is formed of two angular volumes clad in 2,500 precast concrete panels arranged in horizontal bands.
According to McNicoll, the building's architectural quality renders it particularly suited to being rebuilt in Lego, for which he drew closely on photographs and 3D visuals of the museum.
"This model captures the angular design and textured facade of the V&A Museum Dundee," said McNicoll.
"That banded, angular facade is what makes the building so unusually well suited to being rebuilt in Lego," he continued.
"I used a 3D version of the museum inside a Dundee Waterfront app to check scale and angles from every side as I built, rotating it like a reference photo you can walk around."
The campaign, which has seen support from local schools and garnered over 2,800 votes so far, will run until next year.
"It's a joy to see the city get behind the project, especially so many school children, and I hope the support continues until it reaches 10,000 votes," Kuma added.
Lego recently unveiled the Sagrada Familia set, which is its largest one yet with 12,060 pieces. It also created a giant World Cup trophy in New York from 1.3 million bricks to mark this year's tournament.
The photography is by Brian McNicoll.
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