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The “Scale Model” Line –
LEGO
®
Architecture in the 1960s
The history of the current LEGO
®
Architecture
Series can be traced back to the beginning
of the 1960s, when the popularity of the LEGO
brick was steadily increasing. Godtfred Kirk
Christiansen, the then owner of the company,
began looking for ways to further expand the
LEGO system and asked his designers to
come up with a set of components that would
add a new dimension to LEGO building.
Their answer was as simple as it was
revolutionary: five elements that matched the
existing bricks, but were only one-third the
height. These new building ‘‘plates’’ made it
possible to construct more detailed models
than before.
This greater LEGO flexibility seemed to
match the spirit of the age; modernist
architects were redefining how houses
looked and people were taking an active
interest in the design of their new homes. It
was these trends that led to the introduction
of the LEGO “Scale Model” Line in early 1962.
The name itself was a direct link to the way
architects and engineers worked, and it was
hoped that they and others would build their
projects “to scale” in LEGO elements. As
with LEGO Architecture today, the original
sets were designed to be different from the
normal, brightly colored LEGO boxes, and
also included “An Architectural Book’’ for
inspiration.
Although the five elements remain an integral
part of the LEGO building system today, the
“Scale Model” Line was phased out in 1965.
Many of the principles from the series would
re-emerge over 40 years later in the LEGO
Architecture Series.