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The Two-Story Lego House
It's every child's dream--a full-sized house made entirely of Legos, right down to the flushing toilet, breadbox and newspapers. But the two-story Lego house just completed in England was demolished on Tuesday, Sept. 22, after a deal to place it at a nearby Legoland amusement park fell through.
The project was the idea of James May, a British TV host, to be featured on his series Toy Stories. He enlisted a thousand volunteers and used 3.3 million donated Lego bricks. He even spent a night in the house, which he learned is not waterproof and has "the most uncomfortable bed I've ever slept in," May told The Daily Mail.
After a plan to install the house at nearby Legoland Windsor amusement park fell through (May says Legoland reneged on a deal to take it because it's too pricey to transport while the park is miffed that it was not consulted on construction), builders tried unsuccessfully to find someone who was willing to claim the house, free if they could pay the $82,000 needed to haul it away.
Shield the children's eyes! After weeks of construction, a thousand volunteers and three million Lego blocks, the Lego house was demolished on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
The Legos left over after the demolition will be donated to charity.
See more pictures of the demolition in the Telegraph.
Toy fanatic and BBC television host James May set out last month to build the first ever life-size house made strictly out of Legos for his show James May's Toy Stories.
The two-story structure was built in the Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking, Surrey. As seen here, the frame was wood, but everything else was all Lego, all the time. There was even a Lego cat inside!
Back in early August, thousands of people answered May's call for help in constructing the house. According to The Daily Mail, a total of 1,200 people were granted access to the vineyard, while 1,500 were turned away. Volunteers even brought their old Lego blocks to help the cause.
The Lego house near completion. Construction took weeks longer than anticipated. (Doesn't it always?)
The Lego company nearly collapsed a few years ago but has recently rebounded, with a new CEO and a focus on Hollywood tie-ins, according to the New York Times.
Check out more Lego related architectural structures, but in miniature with California Travel Tips in the video below:
Reader comments (Page 5 of 8)
man im a ameriacn i dont think that was a waste of time that is some cool stuff i remember when i was a kid i would try and build actual houses it never worke it kind of cool to see it now !!
ReplyI wonder if it was cheaper than a regular house. Could the big bad wolf blow it down?
Replyonly two stories? the English are so lazy
ReplyAnyone like the Eddie Money song,the one about building a prison out of stone?Is that about imprisoning overgrown monsters that tromp through the land stepping on all the liliputians?
Replymammothman 9-24-2009 @ 9:17AM - look at the top right corner of the comment for the ad. You will see ( - )( + )( ! ). Click on the ( ! ) to report it.
Replywhat a waste!!!... ether it's bad timing,or those amusement park owners acted "stupidly" let paris hilton have it!, or let Donald trump buy it for his grandchildren!
ReplyNo offence to the English....heck, we are too...kind of, but if that was built in the United States it would look like it had been sculpted by someone that worked for Disney...not just flat sides. It still looks cool, but as an artist myself I would have never created something for commercial use at an amusement park that looks so.....boring....sorry.
ReplyThat's right, every single person in the United States is a gifted artist. This house was built by over a thousand volunteers. Do you realise the difficulty inherent in coordinating that kind of labour? Putting in complicated architectural details would have raised that difficulty by an order of magnitude.
I think the Lego house was cool and saddened it had to come down. Even thought the person who built it, spent a lot of time on it, they will be known as the man/woman built a two story home with Lego's. Too bad Lego's didn't keep it; that would have been a cool piece to see.
ReplyThe house was built for a TV progam 'James May's Toy Stories' which will be aired sometime on BBC in the fall/winter. A DVD will also be available on amazon if anyone wishes to see just what James has been getting up to with LEGO and other toys such as Scalextric, Meccano (Erector set), plastecine, Hornby train sets, and Airfix.
Replyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_May's_Toy_Stories
I guess the moral of the story is have your deal in ink before trying to negotiate after you built something this unique.
ReplyIt was a remarkable feat, the gentlemans time was his to do with as he wanted, and to people who either remember or have kids who even today enjoy Lego's, a bit of a rather melancholy act to simply dismiss the piece and not give such a feat its due.
I do have to think had the man done this in the U.S.A., had he not found a home for his ' home" where he intended, others would have stepped up and welcomed it. A bit of Brit snooterie ?? Who knows, as I said, if the deal wasnt signed before he built it, dont assume Lego ( or whomever was in charge ) would simply commit to accepting the piece, however incredibly unique and well thought out it was.
Or maybe he just pished them off because they had tried to do the same thing on their own and failed........THAT would be typical Brit snooterie.... ;-)~
He did not just assume they would take it. Legoland reneged on the deal. Anyway, you seem to be labouring under the impression that he built this on some kind of whim. It's a TV presenter who built this for a TV show. Am I the only person who can actually read and comprehend?
What a great way to get involved with something fun and constructive for the entire family. It is too, bad that an agreement could not be reached to preserve the house. More imagination instead of the video thumb and finger coordination is neeeded in this world.
Replyi spend quite a bit of my time buildinglego houses with my 4 kids. they love legos!
ReplyTHAT REALLY SUCKS!
ReplyTo all you people that didn't listen to your mommas advice, if you cant say something nice, keep your mouth shut...You know people, what difference does it make to you if this guy has too much time on his hands? I think it was awesome to complete this feat and I think its a disgrace to have a company go back on their word! Perhaps the business should have known what they were getting into before accepting this mans hard work! Dont be cynical because you didn't get to build the house, or do whatever it is that you would want to do. Go out there and do what it is you want to do and I hope people are supportive of you and not being a jerk, such as you!! I am a proud American, not that it makes a bit of diiference when it comes to doing what you like! Now why dont you go out and do something constructive!
Replyguys its a dag on lego house!! lightin up a little bit. who are you to determine what one does with their time??? geez oh man. every one stand up and remove the stick in your a**
Replyi don't get it. they were going to move it near a legoland park, and that fell through, so they decided to demolish it just because it wasn't getting moved?! what a waste!
ReplyI honestly think the lego house was pretty cool and would have liked to see it in person. Although it did end up being a complete waste of time and money this is far from being reason enough for anyone to resort to ignorant and childish name calling. The only thing we have complete control over is our own behavior, so there is absolutely no point in critisizing the actions of others. Do not judge others thus you be judged!!!
ReplyAll Counrties waste time and energy on which is not of their best interest. To say that England is wasting more time and energy than others is ignorant. Most time, energy and money is wasted on the very rich and the very poor. It doesn't matter what country they live in, and both parties always have some sort of a reasoning or excuse for their actions, but none the less it is still wastefull. This man built a Lego House and is going to donate the legos of which he built it with. The house was going to be a sorce of entertainment, but the plan didn't fall through and therefore they had to take it down. Entertainment equals money, therefore I do not see how they intentionally wasted time, energy or money. Accidents happen, Life happens! No man nor woman should be responsible for events that the world bistows upon them. People, get over it!
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