LEGOs

DID YOU KNOW?
Laid end to end, the number of LEGO bricks sold in a year would reach around the world more than five times?


This was just one of several remarkable facts that accompanied the absolutely fantastic structures currently on display at the National Building Museum. You do need timed tickets for this one, unusually, but being members, we got VIP tickets.

Chicago-based architect Adam Reed Tucker has designed and built scale models, out of LEGOs, of 15 incredible buildings of the world. The exhibition, LEGO Architecture: Towering Ambition is wonderful good fun.


Yes, that's the World Trade Center above. Below, the Hancock Tower and the Empire State Building.



It was impossible to get all of the Burj Khalifa in one shot! Amazing. I thought including a panel would be helpful to give you a sense of the time and scale involved.



This is a section of the Chicago Spire, an incredible building designed by famed architect Santiago Calatrava, but sadly never built. Speaking of famed architects, below is Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.



These should be recognizable to any American: the St. Louis Arch, symbol of westward expansion, and the White House. This model is still in progress; Mr. Tucker builds a little more each time he visits the National Building Museum while the exhibition is up.



Just a quick view of the room. It really was stunning!

The exhibition is open until September 5, 2011, so you've got time. Note that the space also includes a play room with lots of LEGOs so that you can build your own skyscrapers. There's also a specialty shop with some of the Tucker-designed kits. We didn't escape from that room -- Greg's looking forward to building Fallingwater, the White House, and the Guggenheim in our condo.