Habitat 67

In an Internet vote among Lego fans, the Habitat 67 housing complex in Montreal beat out the likes of the Eiffel Tower -- but despite the win, there won't be a Lego version of it. CBC reports:

The Lego company had, without making any promises, said it would consider creating a toy set inspired by the winning entry.

But the company has announced there won't be a toy version of Montreal's Habitat 67, at least not for now. Lego says it will consider such a project in the future.

Designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, Habitat 67 is a unique project built for the city's world fair in 1967.

Lego's Architecture series includes kits for Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House and Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House and Fallingwater, among other buildings.

Want to vote on the next group of 10 buildings to be considered? The second round of Lego's Inspire & Vote contest is under way. It includes San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge and Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House in Los Angeles.

Lego architect

Would you believe there's a real architect behind Lego's Architecture series? Adam Reed Tucker, who five years ago was designing high-end houses until the real estate market tanked, is the force behind the pricey, complicated kits. He insists that Lego bricks are an art medium. "I have zero interest in this as a toy," he says.

Blair Kamin of the Chicago Tribune writes about Tucker's work, how he got started with Lego and how he has done with it:

He is so frequently asked to design Lego buildings for homeowners, architects and institutions -- he recently began work on a Lego version of Chicago's new Children's Memorial Hospital -- that his rates start at $10,000 per commission. And though the National Building Museum in Washington opened an exhibit in 2010 focused on large-scale versions of his designs -- including the abandoned Chicago Spire -- the show has been so popular that it has been extended to September.

Sugar cubist

OK, we agree, Lego is great -- but who needs it? Not Northern Ireland sculptor Brendan Jamison, who creates replicas of intricate buildings from sugar cubes. Many, many sugar cubes. Thousands or even hundreds of thousands of sugar cubes.

In his childhood, Jamison's favorite toy was Lego, which he used to build castles and spaceships and whatever came to mind, but never bothering with the instructions. He moved on to Smarties, briefly, then found sugar cubes. See his Tate Modern sculpture online at www.brendanjamison.com


-- Pat Jeffries