All it takes is one glance at Billund, Denmark’s newest office campus to quickly identify which company will be taking residence there. Fully equipped with giant LEGO bricks on the roof and integrated into the facade, LEGO Group recently opened the first phase of its new campus, which, when completed, will span 581,250 sf and house 2,000 employees.
Designed by C.F. Møller Architects, the two buildings were inspired by a painting in Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen’s (the LEGO Group owner) office of a boy holding up a building he made with LEGO bricks. The goal of the design was to express LEGO Group’s core values of imagination, creativity, fun, learning, caring, and quality.
The interior space is highlighted by colorful textured walls resembling LEGO bricks and decorated with LEGO creations of familiar faces such as Spongebob Squarepants, Winnie the Pooh, and LEGO “minifigs” dressed as firefighters, police officers, etc. And while the spaces look like all fun and games, they were designed to help employees produce their best work.
See Also: Chicago’s long-gestating luxury condo tower nears construction
“In the same way you build with LEGO bricks, we took elements our people love and brought them all together to create something unique,” said Anneke Beerkens, Senior Workplace Anthropologist, LEGO Group, in a release. “For example, employees told us that they wanted the freedom to choose an environment that suited them best for whatever they were working on, but also liked to stay close to teammates. So we built team ‘neighbourhoods’ which are a mix of individual and collaborative workspaces designed to create a caring environment where people can do great quality work.”
Sustainability was also a key tenet of the design. 4,150 solar panels cover the roof of a nearby parking garage and produce more than 1 million kWh, which will supply half of the energy needed to power the campus. Additionally, the new buildings’ rooftops are covered with Sedum plants, which absorb water and CO2, and rainwater will be used to irrigate parks in the campus area.
The full eight-building campus is slated for completion in 2021. A large central area, dubbed the “People House” will feature a large auditorium, fitness center, arts and crafts workshop, cafe, and accommodation for employees visiting from out of town.
Related Stories
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Construction Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Structure Tone, Turner, and Gilbane top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction contractor and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, URS, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 23, 2014
Tallest skyscraper in South Korea now open
The Northeast Asia Trade Tower stands at 308 meters and is the focal point of the Songdo International Business District, a new 310-hectare city built on reclaimed land.
| Jul 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June
AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.
| Jul 22, 2014
L.A.'s tallest tower to get observation deck
U.S. Bank Tower, as part of a series of improvements, will be getting an observation deck and restaurant at its top.
| Jul 21, 2014
Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]
According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.
| Jul 21, 2014
Workplace trends survey reveals generational patterns in office use
Data analysis from Mancini•Duffy indicates significant variations among age cohorts in the workplace.
| Jul 20, 2014
Why every major U.S. city should be nurturing ‘Innovation Hubs’
Today, more than ever, tech districts are the key to economic growth for metro markets. A new report from the Brookings Institution calls tech hubs the superchargers of innovation economies and creators of highly coveted tech jobs.
| Jul 18, 2014
Contractors warm up to new technologies, invent new management schemes [2014 Giants 300 Report]
“UAV.” “LATISTA.” “CMST.” If BD+C Giants 300 contractors have anything to say about it, these new terms may someday be as well known as “BIM” or “LEED.” Here’s a sampling of what Giant GCs and CMs are doing by way of technological and managerial innovation.
