The LEGO Group breaks ground on Innovation Campus – new home for product designers

BILLUND, Denmark, October 31, 2024: CEO Niels B Christiansen and Chief Product and Marketing Officer (CPMO) Julia Goldin today broke ground on a 50,000 sqm Innovation Campus in the LEGO Group global headquarters in Billund, Denmark.

The new building will house 1,700 creative colleagues from across product marketing and development, gaming, product and quality teams including the company’s 600+ designers in one space to create the LEGO experiences that inspire children and adults across the globe. The building will also be home to the world’s largest library of LEGO elements covering a collection of around 20,000 different LEGO elements in 70 different colours.

The new Campus is part of the LEGO Group’s commitment to building and creating a world class headquarters in Billund where more than 5,900 employees from around 90 countries work.

Niels B Christiansen, CEO, said: “I am thrilled to mark the beginning of construction of another new campus as we continue to invest in attractive workplaces for our colleagues around the world. Not only is the building design creative at its core – it is also true to our sustainability ambitions, including our commitment to reducing carbon emissions.”

LEGO bricks also played a pivotal role in the building’s design. CEBRA architecture invited colleagues who will work in the building to provide input to their future workspaces at different stages of the design and frequently used LEGO bricks to capture and evolve ideas. Consultations were held over 18 months during the design process to ensure the building provided the right environment to inspire creativity and idea-building while reflecting the company’s values and commitment to sustainability.

The result is an innovative building in six overlapping modules with up to four floors featuring play zones and atriums and a bustling PlayWay that moves through neighbourhoods and connects people and functions. There will be lots of green spaces and maximised daylight to spark creativity, in a structure made entirely from sustainable wood.

Julia Goldin, CPMO of the LEGO Group, said: “Innovation Campus will be an inspiring workplace that honours the modular design of LEGO bricks. With colleague input playing a key role in shaping the overall design, the campus will foster creativity, inclusivity, and the free flow of ideas.

“We have a truly global and diverse team, and this new building has been designed to represent the fun and innovation embodied by the LEGO brand. The space will serve as a global centre for product and design excellence, enabling opportunities to explore new dimensions of creativity, including digital experiences and interactive design, ensuring we continue to innovate every aspect of the LEGO experience. By bringing our teams together into one building, Innovation Campus becomes a unique and powerful driver for uniting all aspects of our development process, from groundbreaking physical products to immersive digital experiences and world-class marketing, all under one roof.”

Sustainable design and construction

Sustainability has also been central to the design. The building’s innovative wooden structure will feature a core and walls of FSC certified timber. This helps achieve a significant reduction in upfront emissions. The building aims to meet LEED Platinum standards by enhancing energy efficiency, materials, biodiversity, and water conservation. This is achieved through deliberate choices made throughout the design, like overall building geometry, building heights, or façade design.

The new Innovation Campus is set to open in 2027.