Building a Church With LEGO (Photos)

Image: LOOS.FM

Behold, a LEGO church. While not exactly a house of worship, the pavilion you see above served as a temporary public space for performances and exhibitions for the Grenswerk Festival in Enschede, Netherlands.

LOOS.FM, which designed the pavilion named Abondantus Gigantus in 2011, chose the architecture of a church because it is a “community building where people come together,” according to its website. “It also serves an important role in organizing the public space: a church is always in the center of an area. In the same manner in which lighthouses guard a border and bridges connect people, a church centers an area.”

Image: LOOS.FM

Image: LOOS.FM

The building is made of Legioblocks, which are concrete blocks that resemble LEGO. They are painted in LEGO’s iconic primary colors and used to build the walls and 20-meter-tall spire.

Although these blocks are multifunctional, hardly anyone makes use of their full potential. They are mainly used in dumping grounds surrounding harbors, as a wall for iron scrap or for sheltering potatoes. Once a wall of Legioblocks has been placed, it usually remains there for years, even though they are easy and flexible to build with. The Legioblocks are easily stacked and versatile in their use.

While LEGO evoke “remembrance, sentiment and creativity,” using them to build a church “inspires the spectator with awe.” Since the blocks aren’t firmly stacked together, light can enter the building emitting “an enchanting radiance,” the website says. “Because of this, the appearance of the object is continually changing. The reflection and absorption of daylight, sunlight and artificial lighting on the primary colored blocks provides another dimension to experiencing the spaciousness.”

Image: LOOS.FM

Image: LOOS.FM

Image: LOOS.FM

While a lot of thought and effort went into constructing this edifice, to demonstrate the versatility of these blocks, the materials will be fully reused for each of the next editions of the festival for five years. The video below shows the process of building the LEGO church.

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