Lego builds giant brick house in its home town

By Julie Astrid Thomsen COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish toymaker Lego is building a play house in its home town designed to look like 21 giant versions of its bricks stacked on top of each other, the company said on Thursday. The Lego House is due to open in September near the company's headquarters in Billund, Denmark. "Lego House will be the only one of its kind in the world and it will remain so, because Billund is the home of Lego and this is where we will always be," its general manager, Jesper Vilstrup, told Reuters. The 12,000 square metre (130,000 square feet) building, designed by Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, will include three restaurants, a Lego store, four play areas and a gallery displaying the history of Lego and creations made by fans. Lego House will "display everything the Lego brick can do," Vilstrup said. Lego, which is vying with Barbie doll maker Mattel to become the world's biggest toy maker, has teamed up with movie franchises such as Star Wars in deals that span Lego sets, video games, and smartphone applications. The company, founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen and his grandchild Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, aims to bring children back to its core product: the Lego brick, first produced in its current form in 1958. (Editing by Ruth Pitchford)