The streets of a city during a design festival, particularly one as celebrated as the London Design Festival, are submerged in a whirlwind of creativity. The semantics of art and design exude from the exhibition spaces and showrooms, trickling out onto the pathways, echoing through the alleys. What defines such an atmosphere is a bustle—a briskness triggered by curiosity and gratification. In a milieu as exhilarating as a simmering design event, where does one go to slow down and escape the haste sans losing touch with the imaginative?

Renowned toy design company LEGO joined the commotion of London Design Festival 2023 with an intent to harbour calm and focus. The Danish brand, in collaboration with media platform It’s Nice That, opened the doors to the LEGO® Piece Garden—an interactive event located in the heart of London’s Shoreditch. The pop-up space was envisioned as a haven away from the furore, a serene environment to unleash creativity while exploring the inviting forms and colours of the latest LEGO® Botanicals and LEGO® Art ranges. The immersive experience was a part of the design fair, running alongside the other events and shows being organised across the city from September 16 to 24, 2023. “The LEGO Piece Garden, located in such a bustling area, offers passersby a moment of still—a place to step inside, slow down, and really engage in the creative and building activities on offer—and with me as I live-build,” says Charlotte Mei, an illustrator and artist whose work is nature-filled, calming and joyful, of the immersive experience.

It is often hard to capture elusive moments for ourselves—to take a step back and soak up our surroundings when life gets fast-paced. The LEGO® Piece Garden emerged as a space where passersby were encouraged to step in and experience such moments of focus. Taking cues from the pop-up, and with guidance from LEGO helpers, visitors were invited to take a seat, engage in an experience of play and build blooms that then adorn the walls of a community garden. One could craft the LEGO® Icons Wildflower Bouquet, the LEGO® Flower Bouquet, LEGO® Icons Tranquil Garden or LEGO® Bonsai Tree, as well as chat with the artists in residence—creating live art in the space. Subsequently, the interior of the LEGO® Piece Garden evolved and grew day by day. London-based creative Alec Doherty shares, "LEGO building is for all ages, and I am excited to be creating my own LEGO brick art installation live while the LEGO® Piece Garden is open.”

Beyond indulging in a gamut of vibrant LEGO stems, petals and leaves, visitors also had the opportunity to enter into a competition to win botanical-themed LEGO artworks created by two artists-in-residence—Charlotte Mei and Alec Doherty—who worked in the space over the course of the installation. To be in with a chance of winning, the participants had to place their finished flowers on the moss-filled LEGO Flower Wall, take a picture of their creation, and share it on Instagram using the mentioned tags. The artists-in-residence then chose their favourite creation and gave away an original artwork to the winner. “I think people will be really surprised by the range of LEGO Botanicals and Art products on offer—you can visit to build a Bonsai Tree, or a Flower Bouquet, to name a few, and every product that a visitor builds will be added to a ‘living’ wall in the space, so essentially The LEGO® Piece Garden is blossoming community garden,” comments Doherty.

After channelling their creativity in solitude, the visitors were offered workshops run by Mei and Doherty, where they contrived their designs in a collaborative environment in the presence of other participants. These sessions were hubs of guidance and inspiration, with participants also being given the chance to enter into the competition at the end. Elsewhere in the installation, people encountered the LEGO Adults Welcome range, a collection of LEGO sets designed to stimulate relaxation and play. At the photo booth, the visitors were allowed to capture some fun snaps of themselves within The LEGO® Piece Garden.

The production of the event embodied a conscious approach; all of the materials for the set design, signage, out-of-home banners, and printed items were recycled or recyclable—to be disposed of responsibly, while the LEGO bricks will be re-used.

During the entire course of London Design Festival 2023, the LEGO® Piece Garden was free to enter and open to all. As people segued from the restless streets into the treasure trove of blooming LEGO bricks, they dove into a space of deliberate creation—building artworks inspired by LEGO creations, via the medium of paint, collage or drawing. Through their enticing and much-loved product designs, LEGO alongside It’s Nice That successfully established a garden that was pieced together by all who chose to partake—carefully building and planting their floral compositions in an evolving oasis that blossomed with life through the seven-day festival.

The LEGO® Piece Garden was on view at the London Design Festival until September 24 at Ace Corner, 149-150 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6JQ.

London Design Festival is back! In its 21st edition, the faceted fair adorns London with installations, exhibitions, and talks from major design districts including Shoreditch Design Triangle, Greenwich Peninsula, Brompton, Design London, Clerkenwell Design Trail, Mayfair, Bankside, King's Cross, and more. Click here to explore STIR’s highlights from the London Design Festival 2023.