Tuesday, September 22, 2009

It looks nice, but what can it do?


We seem to be entering a ridiculous new stage in LEGO building where people are no longer content to building something beautiful -- now they want it to be completely functional as well. This week alone, there's the tale of a full-scale LEGO house (which sadly might be demolished) and a working LEGO cello from artist Nathan Sawaya.

The form is beautiful, the function is the surprise. Whether it's a door that swings open to reveal a building interior or a convertible top that rolls out over the front seats of a car, LEGO sets and MOCs are incredible feats of product design. Perhaps this is a unconscious reflection of the changing corporate culture at LEGO -- where innovation has become more targeted and focused. It's not enough to play, you have to play well.

Photo
by kooscannon.

1 comment:

ahl said...

James May (builder of the lego house) does some other pretty neat stuff. In particular, I'd strongly recommend "Oz and James' Big Wine Adventure" to TV watchers in general and you and the missus in particular.