Pavilions are architecture’s fast, experimental structures that test ideas long before they scale up to cities. This year’s highlights push that spirit further, blurring the lines between sculpture, shelter, ritual space, and ecological device. From bamboo vaults rising in flood-prone villages to inflatable dream temples, from wind-driven feather structures on remote islands to LEGO-built playscapes in London, the pavilion becomes a tool for storytelling.

Across the ten projects, a set of shared themes emerges: material reinvention, circular design, and a renewed focus on community. Bread waste becomes structure, bamboo becomes climate infrastructure, and woven rattan becomes a water-harvesting system. Some pavilions introduce new behaviors, gathering, dreaming, resting, learning, while others revive old rituals like bathing or communal reading. What ties them together is their willingness to ask what a temporary space can do, and how it can shift our relationship to place, resources, and each other. Here are ten pavilions reshaping how we think about space.

LINA GHOTMEH’S EXPO PAVILION TAKES GOLD IN OSAKA

image courtesy of Lina Ghotmeh—Architecture

Lina Ghotmeh—Architecture designs the Bahrain Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka, crafting a timber-and-aluminum structure inspired by the nation’s traditional dhow boats and its long maritime history. Positioned along the waterfront in the Expo’s Empowering Lives zone, the pavilion bridges Bahraini boat-building heritage with Japanese wood craftsmanship, expressing cultural exchange through material and form. The structure reinterprets millennia-old construction techniques with a lightweight wooden frame, an aluminum outer layer, and passive cooling strategies that reduce mechanical energy use.

Designed for disassembly and reuse after the Expo, the pavilion embodies Bahrain’s commitment to sustainability and craft-driven innovation. The structure received the Gold Award for Best Architecture and Landscape in the Self-Built category, recognizing Ghotmeh’s precise, contextual approach and the pavilion’s refined expression of Bahrain’s cultural and environmental heritage.

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SIR PETER COOK’S LEGO PLAY PAVILION FOR THE SERPENTINE

The Play Pavilion, designed by Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab), in collaboration with Serpentine and the LEGO Group © Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab) | images courtesy of Serpentine; photos by Andy Stagg, unless stated otherwise

Serpentine and the LEGO Group’s Play Pavilion by Sir Peter Cook, installed in London’s Kensington Gardens, is a bright, bowl-shaped structure wrapped in orange and animated with LEGO-built topographies. The exterior walls of the pavilion rise and dip like a shifting landscape, inviting visitors to touch the tactile brick formations before stepping inside.

Sunlight filters through gaps between the roof and base, filling the interior with natural light while maintaining a breezy, open feel. A towering central pillar, assembled from LEGO bricks, anchors the space like a watchful robotic figure. Visitors are encouraged to play, build, and modify the pavilion in real time through an interactive brick wall and a trove of LEGO pieces. Multiple openings frame views of the garden, while a yellow slide offers a playful exit route.

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SIX-SEAT FOREST BAR PAVILION BY ELMGREEN & DRAGSET 

images by Andrea Rossetti, courtesy of Khao Yai Art

Elmgreen & Dragset unveil K-BAR, a six-seat cocktail pavilion tucked deep within Thailand’s Khao Yai Art Forest, inserting an urban typology into a remote natural setting. Appearing most days as a charcoal-gray sculptural object amid dense foliage, the pavilion occasionally comes to life: visitors arriving at the right moment are guided through the forest to find the bar glowing from within.

Inside, stainless steel surfaces, dark wood, red leather stools, terrazzo flooring, and a backlit display channel the intimacy of classic metropolitan bars. A permanently installed 1996 painting by Martin Kippenberger, visible even when the bar is closed, anchors the installation, paying homage to the artist’s legacy and echoing Elmgreen & Dragset’s long-standing interest in ‘denials,’ functional forms that resist predictable use.

Open only once a month, K-BAR plays with visibility, access, and displacement, placing a European artwork in a Southeast Asian forest as a subtle inversion of museum repatriation debates. As part of the newly launched Khao Yai Art Forest, the pavilion underscores the initiative’s mission to merge contemporary art with ecological immersion, offering an unexpected moment of encounter in one of Thailand’s most pristine environments.

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LEOPOLD BANCHINI INSTALLS TIMBER BATHHOUSE IN SPAIN

image by Gregori Civera

Leopold Banchini Architects installs Round About Baths at the Concéntrico Festival in Logroño, Spain, transforming the center of a traffic roundabout into a temporary public bathhouse. The circular timber structure reclaims an overlooked urban void, introducing cold-water basins, steam rooms, and changing areas that revive the communal spirit of historic public baths.

Built with a standard timber frame and clad in uncut wooden panels intended for reuse, the pavilion emphasizes material efficiency and circularity. High perimeter walls provide privacy while clearly marking the intervention within the car-dominated landscape, prompting visitors to reconsider how urban land is allocated and who it serves. By situating a shared bathing environment at the heart of a vehicular crossroads, Round About Baths challenges conventional urban hierarchies and highlights the potential of underutilized spaces. Once dismantled, the site returns to its previous state, but the project leaves behind a conceptual proposal.

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TOGUNA WORLD’S NOMADIC PAVILION LANDS IN ATHENS

all images courtesy of Toguna World

Toguna World’s immersive nomadic pavilion, The Sanctuary of Dreams, combines film, ritual, and collective storytelling within an inflatable structure presented as part of Plásmata 3 | We’ve met before, haven’t we? in Athens. Rooted in African philosophies of cyclical time and ancestral memory, the space invites visitors to enter barefoot and step into a meditative environment where a 44-minute, three-channel art film brings together animation, collage, soundscapes, and archival textures.

After the screening, participants join a guided reflection circle, contributing their visions to The Global Mapping of Dreams, a growing archive of future imaginaries from across Africa and its diaspora. Designed by Pierre-Christophe Gam, the pavilion functions as a contemporary ritual space, featuring dimmable lighting, scent, modular cushions, and spatial audio that shape an intimate environment for collective visioning. 

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MERO STUDIOS BUILDS A PAVILION FROM 780 LEFTOVER BAGUETTES

all images by Paul Kozlowski

MERO Studios builds Paysage de Pain, a public pavilion made from 780 salvaged baguettes, turning surplus bread into a tactile, aromatic structure within the courtyard of Montpellier’s Hôtel de Lunas. Developed with the nonprofit Pain de L’Espoir, the installation reframes food waste as a spatial material, highlighting the staggering amount of unsold bread discarded daily in France.

Visitors move through warm, dough-scented walls that crack and age under the sun, transforming the pavilion into a living metaphor for nourishment, excess, and decay. Through its texture, smell, and temporal fragility, Paysage de Pain becomes a sensory monument to resourcefulness.

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FEATHER-BLADE SEASIDE PAVILION SWAYS ON CHAISHAN ISLAND 

image by Liang Wenjun

GN Architects’ Seaside Pavilion brings new life to the abandoned pier of Chaishan Island, introducing a wind-driven structure whose long white blades sway gently above the water. Designed as part of the Hello, Island revitalization initiative, the pavilion acts as a symbolic arrival point, a contemporary echo of traditional village entrances where large trees once anchored community gatherings.

Suspended from a prefabricated steel frame, 36 seven-meter blades move with the sea breeze, creating a rhythmic, feather-like choreography that mirrors the quiet landscape of the island. The installation repurposes the old cargo pier into a resting and meeting place for the elderly residents. Built with corrosion-resistant materials and high-strength fishing ropes for durability, the pavilion balances engineering precision with a sense of lightness. Its movement shifts from subtle to visible depending on the wind, transforming the site into a landmark that reconnects Chaishan’s past, present, and future through motion and placemaking.

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MARINA TABASSUM’S 2025 SERPENTINE PAVILION OPENS IN LONDON

Serpentine Pavilion 2025 A Capsule in Time, designed by Marina Tabassum, Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA). exterior view. © Marina Tabassum Architects (MTA) | image by Iwan Baan, courtesy of Serpentine

Marina Tabassum Architects’ A Capsule in Time was the 2025 Serpentine Pavilion, a modular timber structure that explores impermanence, light, and temporality within London’s Kensington Gardens. Composed of four translucent capsules aligned with Serpentine South’s historic bell tower, the pavilion filters daylight into shifting patterns, echoing the hydrologic landscapes of Bangladesh, where land continually forms, dissolves, and reappears.

A kinetic capsule allows sections of the pavilion to expand for public programs, while a ginkgo tree anchors the interior as a living symbol of resilience. Built entirely from wood and translucent polycarbonate, materials chosen for their reuse potential, the project embraces dry construction and adaptability, ensuring the pavilion continues its life beyond the summer season. Integrated bookshelves house a curated selection of texts spanning Bengali literature, ecology, and identity, including works banned in Bangladesh. Tabassum frames the pavilion as a place of quiet resistance and shared knowledge, offering a contemplative environment where ideas can circulate freely. 

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BAMBOO PAVILION ANCHORS YASMEEN LARI’S PONO VILLAGE

all images courtesy of Nyami Studio

Nyami Studio and Jack Rankin complete the Juliet Center in Sindh, Pakistan, a bamboo pavilion that anchors Yasmeen Lari’s zero-carbon Pono Village, a prototype community built in response to the devastating 2022 floods. The lightweight vaulted structure is shaped from bamboo, mud, lime, and thatch, translating vernacular forms into a modular, climate-resilient space designed for communal use. The pavilion offers an open, flexible environment for workshops, gatherings, and training programs, supporting Lari’s mission to empower local residents, particularly women, through hands-on construction and craft skills.

Two interlocking vaults span widely without internal columns, creating a breathable interior that can be adapted or expanded as the village evolves. Built using a combination of digital precision and traditional techniques, the project demonstrates how low-carbon materials can achieve structural complexity and durability in extreme climates. Hand-made mud tiles line the floor, and a woven thatch roof of locally harvested grass provides protection from heat and monsoon rains. 

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RAD+AR BUILDS WOVEN-BAMBOO CHICKEN COOP IN JAKARTA 

images courtesy of RAD+ar

RAD+ar designs the Chicken Hero Pavilion in Urban Forest Jakarta, carving a low, hill-like form into the landscape to house an educational chicken coop disguised as part of the terrain. The pavilion merges ecological performance with community engagement, inviting visitors through a tunnel-like opening into a space that promotes backyard poultry farming as a sustainable household practice. Inside, reclaimed bamboo forms a ventilated, daylight-filled structure optimized for animal comfort and waste management.

The pavilion processes organic waste from nearby restaurants, turning leaves and food scraps into compost and closing the loop by distributing fresh eggs daily, a live demonstration of a micro circular economy. As a temporary installation, the project functions both as a prototype for low-impact chicken coops and as a public learning space. It addresses Indonesia’s significant food waste challenges while breaking stigmas around small-scale poultry keeping. Blending into the park’s topography, the Chicken Hero Pavilion shows how simple construction and local materials can support inclusive education, environmental stewardship, and community-led sustainability.

read more here 

see designboom’s TOP 10 stories archive:

2024 — 2023 — 2022 — 2021 — 2020 — 2019 —  2018 — 2017 — 2016 — 2015 — 2014 — 2013

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At Baoshan No. 2 Central Primary School in Shanghai, OLA Shanghai collaborated with LEGO China and NIKE to create a playground that integrates movement and creativity. The design takes inspiration from the form and logic of a simple 2×3 LEGO brick, translating its modularity into spatial and athletic functions.

Developed as part of NIKE’s Move to Zero initiative, the project aims to merge the concepts of play and physical activity. Modular elements derived from LEGO bricks are reinterpreted as adaptable structures for climbing, balancing, and exploration, encouraging children to construct their own routes and redefine how play spaces can support movement.

all images courtesy of LEGO China and NIKE

Modular components reconfigure into various play structures

The design also connects to LEGO China’s Build the Change workshop, where children used LEGO bricks to express ideas about play and design. Insights from the workshop informed the project’s emphasis on open-ended interaction, allowing students to experiment, collaborate, and transform even short breaks into moments of creative movement.

Through this collaboration between companies NIKE and LEGO China, the playground becomes both a learning environment and a flexible platform for exploration, reflecting how design can support the intersection of education, sustainability, and play.

the playground at Baoshan No. 2 Central Primary School redefines the relationship between play and movement

OLA Shanghai designed the space in collaboration with LEGO China and NIKE

modular design principles guide both the spatial layout and the play structures

the design translates LEGO’s modularity into physical, scalable play experiences

each element encourages climbing, balancing, and active exploration

the project draws inspiration from the simple geometry of a 2×3 LEGO brick

children can create their own routes and patterns of movement

play and physical activity merge through flexible, open-ended structures

the playground promotes experimentation and collective play

open-ended interaction encourages creativity and problem-solving

modular components can be rearranged to support different play activities

the space adapts to both structured games and spontaneous exploration

LEGO x NIKE playground serves as a model for rethinking school-based play spaces

project info:

name: LEGO x NIKE Sports as Play in Shanghai Primary School

designer: Our LEGO Agency Shanghai (In-house Agency at the LEGO Group)

workshop: Build the Change by LEGO China

program: Move to Zero by NIKE

companies: LEGO | @lego x NIKE | @nike

school: Baoshan No. 2 Central Primary School

location: Shanghai, China

head of LEGO Agency Asia: Annie Boo
creative director: Guo Jun
creative specialist: Bebe Wang
senior copywriter: Beck Deng
senior art director: Jace Wang
senior project manager: Karen Lin
project manager: Venice Choy

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom

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Creator SoGenius106 produces a tower-like hive made of LEGO bricks that unfolds sideways to reveal the working bees hustling inside. Named Beehive, the concept model hopes to teach users about bees and their role in nature by detailing the home and lifestyle using blocks. The main structure of the set is a large beehive, made using standard LEGO bricks, and the hive is stylized but still shows many details found in real ones. 

For the beehive made of LEGO bricks, the hinges at the back part allow the structure to be opened and closed like a box, letting the users see and hide what is happening inside. Inside the hive, there are honeycombs, golden honey, and colorful pollen, shown using small round LEGO pieces. These details help make the inside look active and alive.

all images courtesy of SoGenius106

Beehive made of lego bricks with ‘honey’ blocks

There’s also a queen bee inside the beehive made of LEGO bricks. It is easy to spot because of the streak of blue on her rear. She has her own space inside the hive called the brood nest, where she is shown laying eggs. Each bee inside the hive is a small LEGO build and can be moved around freely, so users can create their own bee arrangements. The interiors also drip with honey to tell the story of how bees collect nectar and turn it into the sweet syrup. Even the accompanying honey is made of blocks, which the users can attach inside the hive.

Outside of the beehive made of LEGO bricks, there are three bees attached to the rotating arms on top of the structure. These bees can spin around when the user twists a small spinner, creating the effect of them flying around the hive like in real life. Inside the hive, there are two more bees that also spin, and users can twist the small knobs on the outside of the hive to make them rotate. At the time of publishing, the beehive made of LEGO bricks is still an idea by SoGenius106, proposed to contain 1,085 LEGO blocks in total, complete with a flower pot and a jar of honey.

SoGenius106 produces a tower-like hive made of LEGO bricks that reveals the working bees hustling inside

the interiors also drip with honey to tell the story of how bees collect nectar and turn it into the sweet syrup

view of the jar of honey

flower pot accompanying the concept set

there are suspended bees on the interior that rotate

view of the knob that rotates the bees working inside the hive

project info:

name: The Beehive

idea: SoGenius106

brand: LEGO | @lego

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: matthew burgos | designboom

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With only 24 LEGO bricks at hand — each in different sizes and colors — designer Reza Aliabadi from Atelier RZLBD sculpts 100 unique De Stijl compositions. The Dutch art movement, rooted in the early 20th-century, is known for its pure geometric abstraction, primary colors, and straight lines – principles Aliabadi meticulously applies to his brick-based creations. Building on his previous ‘100 Abject Towers,’ where he constructed surreal architectural forms from 2×4 yellow LEGO bricks, he uses abstraction and asymmetrical balance to reimagine how order can give rise to diversity.

‘The constraints imposed by the limited materials create a tension between predictability and variation, between system and spontaneity. Much like a cartographer’s grid, these compositions are born of both discipline and play,’ shares the designer.

100 LEGO De Stijl Compositions (1 of 100)

EXPLORING CREATIVITY THROUGH IMPOSED STRUCTURES

Each arrangement in the series is a unique response to the same underlying structure, demonstrating how the system itself becomes the creative force that drives innovation within its boundaries. This ongoing exploration is part of RZLBD’s ‘100 Series,’ an enduring theme at Atelier RZLBD that investigates serial works and iterations to uncover possibilities within predetermined rules. Echoing the philosophy of Theo van Doesburg – a key figure and co-founder of the De Stijl movement, who believed in spiritual freedom through form – the work reminds us that creativity truly thrives within thoughtfully imposed structures. Through this process, the simple, modular nature of LEGO bricks transforms into a canvas for exploring the boundless potential of geometric abstraction.

iteration 20 of 100

iteration 30 of 100

iteration 40 of 100

iteration 50 of 100

iteration 60 of 100

iteration 70 of 100

iteration 80 of 100

iteration 90 of 100

iteration 100 of 100

100 LEGO De Stijl Taxonomy

De Stijl Godfathers (from left to right: Mies van der Rohe, Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg)

project info:

name: 100 LEGO De Stijl Compositions
designer: RZLBD (reza aliabadi) | @rzlbd_

medium: LEGO Bricks (24 different bricks/colours)

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Youtube channel Brick Technology documents and builds custom remote-controlled LEGO Technic vehicles that can climb vertical walls and steep inclines using their parts. In a video, the maker uses LEGO Technic liftarms, axles, rubber tires, and electric motors to make their custom-built models work. Liftarms and frames create a strong and lightweight base, while the axles and pins keep the parts together and handle stress from movement. Rubber tires help the wheels stick to the wall surface, and rotors give the wheels power. 

The gears inside the custom LEGO Technic vehicles transfer the power from the motor to the wheels, giving them enough turning power to go up the wall or over an incline. The Youtube content creator and maker has to think about the weight of the vehicles, too. The video shows the trial and error, as other models flip or fail to trek the wall and incline because of their equipment and balance. Some builds may include extra LEGO bricks or heavier parts to keep balance, while others have parts that can be taken off or moved to make it easier to rebuild them. In this case, the wheels, motors, or frames can be swapped out to see what works best.

all images courtesy of Brick Technology, via Youtube

Brick model with track wheels and hooks

Each time a design is tested, the Youtube content creator monitors what goes right and what goes wrong, and the video shows this testing in action for the viewers. If a model climbs partway and stops, it means that it is not working, and it’s visible how the creator changes or tweaks the parts, including moving the motor or using different gears in hopes of making the custom LEGO Technic vehicle work the next time. The models use different designs, with some having short wheelbases and others being longer and even featuring rotors.

Tire size and shape change because bigger tires can help with grip, but the winning custom LEGO Technic vehicle that works for now is the one with the track wheels. In the video, this model is able to stick to the wall without slipping, thanks to its hook that it can throw over to the other side of the wall. It slides vertically and sticks to the wall, and to make it to the other side, it leaves another hook on top of the wall before sliding down, successfully climbing the barricade without slipping or falling. The creator writes that none of the custom LEGO Technic vehicles have steering, and so far, only the one with tracks has managed to go over to the other side of the wall.

there’s a model with exposed rotors, but it isn’t able to climb over

the one with an extendable ‘ladder’ fails to cross over, too

this custom LEGO Technic vehicle uses its hook to go over the wall

It slides vertically and sticks to the wall

detailed view of the hook while the model is on top of the wall

this is thge only model, so far, that has managed to climb the tall wall

project info:

name: Making a Lego Vehicles climb over a Wall

youtube: Brick Technology | @bricktechnologychannel

model: LEGO Technic | @lego

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LEGO introduces a set that lets collectors recreate a model of the original Game Boy from Nintendo. An homage to an important time in video game history, the model is almost the same size as the real Game Boy, and it includes realistic details from the design of the original device. 

The LEGO Game Boy set includes 421 pieces, and once completed, it looks just like the classic handheld game system from the late 1980s. The front comes with the +Control Pad, A and B buttons, as well as the SELECT and START buttons. These are placed in the same way as on the real device, and it also features details like the volume dial and the contrast adjustment knob, which were important parts of the original handheld gadget.

all images courtesy of LEGO

Builders recreate super mario game cartridge

To make the experience of building the kit even more nostalgic, the kit comes with a Game Pak slot in the back, just like the real device. In this way, the collectors can slide in and out the game cartridges as if they were about to play the games. The brand doubles down with the recreation because users can also build two LEGO game cartridges, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening and Super Mario Land. These small game cartridges can be placed into the slot on the back of the model just like how it is in the original device.

There are also different screen options in the kit. Builders can choose from three different display screens: the original Nintendo Game Boy start-up screen, a screen from Zelda, or one from Super Mario Land. It means they can change how the toy model looks when the users put it on display or show it off. They can also build a small stand to hold their Game Boy model for display on a shelf or desk. The LEGO Game Boy set is expected to become available for pre-orders beginning July 24th, 2025, with a retail date starting October 1st, 2025.

LEGO introduces a set that lets collectors recreate a model of the original Game Boy from Nintendo

the kit comes with tactile control pad and A and B buttons

the start and select buttons are also present

users can also recreate the catridges

the model comes with interchangeable screens, too

the retail for the kit begins in October 2025

project info:

name: LEGO Game Boy set

brands: LEGO, Nintendo | @lego, @nintendo_jp 

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Creator PovedaBricks imagines a retro personal computer made of LEGO blocks that features four swappable pixelated screens. Inspired by the personal computers from the late 1980s and early 1990s, the concept model contains 2,286 pieces and includes a CRT monitor, a classic keyboard, and a wired mouse. 

On the side of the CPU, there’s even a functional-looking floppy drive that can be ejected, and it doubles as the container of the swappable pixelated screens. For the model, each of the screens revives the retro interfaces: one is designed as a TV flashing the colorful signal error, another shows a desktop opening a file, one is in a paint program, and the last features a black screen with white lines that depict simulating code. 

all images courtesy of PovedaBricks via LEGO Ideas

Design of retro personal computer made of LEGO blocks

For the retro personal computer made of LEGO blocks, creator PovedaBricks adds a wired keyboard with circular keys without any printed letters as well as a mouse with a grip. The wires are a nostalgic touch in the age of wireless devices, with the plugs located right behind the monitor of the model. For the CPU, the creator adds air vents on the left side and the buttons on the right part. Here, the blocks are colored, so the users feel that they’re powering up or switching off the model (at the moment, there’s no news yet whether or not they can be pressed).

At the back of the retro personal computer made of LEGO blocks, the CPU still features the vents, and the shape of the monitor faithfully captures the style of the devices back then. There’s a wire connecting the monitor and keyboard, and from behind, users can see the rear of the bricks attached to the display. The creator says, ‘I built this set as a tribute to the early days of home computing, and I believe it would make a great display piece for fans of technology, digital history, and, of course, LEGO.’ At the time of publishing, the retro personal computer made of LEGO blocks by creator PovedaBricks is still an idea and not yet an actual set.

rear view of the retro personal computer made of LEGO bricks

the concept model comes with wired keyboard and mouse

there’s even an ejectable disc drive

view of the screen with the paint program

there’s a functional-looking floppy drive on the side of the CPU that can be ejected

so far, the model is still an idea or concept

project info:

name: The Classics Computer

idea: PovedaBricks via LEGO Ideas

brand: LEGO | @lego

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The dubbed world’s biggest LEGOLAND resort opens in Shanghai, China, with building models made of blocks. Located in Fengjing Town, Jinshan District, the first LEGOLAND resort in the country covers 318,000 square meters, with eight themed areas, more than 75 rides, shows, and attractions, plus thousands of LEGO models made from over 85 million LEGO bricks. The grand opening week spans between July 5th and 13th, 2025, and visitors during this period can watch the live daily shows that the resort hosts.

A theme park with cultural architecture, the LEGOLAND resort in Shanghai, China, demonstrates buildings and motifs referring to the Chinese culture, like the boat ride that shows the LEGO versions of old Chinese water towns and modern Shanghai. Everything in the scenery is made from LEGO bricks, and it is 25 times smaller than the real buildings. There’s also a LEGO Monkie Kid live show exhibiting the dubbed world’s largest LEGO minifigure, as well as two new areas built just for the LEGOLAND resort in Shanghai, China: the Brick Street and the Bricktopia.

all images courtesy of Merlin Entertainments

world’s biggest LEGOLAND resort in shanghai, china

Throughout the LEGOLAND resort and theme park in Shanghai, China, there are six large restaurants, lots of smaller food stands, and around ten retail stores, spread across the entire area. Each location follows the brick theme, with places like Pigsy’s Food Court, CITY Restaurant, and Bricks Family Restaurant serving meals on LEGO-themed plates and cups. The food stands around the park also offer LEGO-themed snacks, such as LEGO brick-shaped ice cream. Aside from being the world’s largest LEGOLAND resort at the time of publishing, this theme park in Shanghai, China, houses The BIG Shop, which is also considered the largest LEGO store in Asia.

Inside the store, visitors can go through and own the brand’s toys, sets, clothing, and souvenirs, as well as limited-edition items that can only be found in Shanghai. The design team also constructed the LEGOLAND Hotel next to the theme park in case they want to stay on-site. The grand opening of this resort in Shanghai, China, came after years of collaborative work between the LEGO Group, Merlin Entertainments, and local government and businesses. The LEGOLAND resort and theme park in Shanghai, China, is now open, and it also hosted the start of the 36th Shanghai Tourism Festival during the opening, which is a summer tourism initiative by the local government, running from July 5th, the same opening date of the theme park, until August 31st, 2025.

the dubbed world’s biggest LEGOLAND resort opens in Shanghai, China

the resort covers 318,000 square meters, with eight themed areas and more than 75 rides

view of the opening on July 5th, 2025

the grand opening week spans between July 5th and 13th, 2025

project info:

name: LEGOLAND Resort 

location: Fengjing Town, Jinshan District, Shanghai, China

companies: LEGO Group, Merlin Entertainments | @lego

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Serpentine and the LEGO Group unveil the Play Pavilion designed by Sir Peter Cook in London’s Kensington Gardens. The public art project coincides with World Play Day on June 11th, 2025, and rightfully so with the playful and vibrant flair of the pavilion. It is on view from June 11th to August 10th, 2025. The only orange on the horizon, the Play Pavilion by Sir Peter Cook partially comes to life with the use of LEGO bricks. Outside, these colorful blocks create protruding, tactile installations resembling topography. A kaleidoscopic roof shaped like a small bowl cocoons the architecture, colored in orange to match the similar shade of the base. Around the pavilion, the walls have slopes and peaks, mimicking the waves crashing onto the shore while creating different openings and exits. 

Anyone can run their hands along them and feel the LEGO-brick installations on the walls before they step inside the Play Pavilion. Here, sunlight passes through the openings because Sir Peter Cook didn’t join the roofing to the base. Air and light, then, flow in and out, and people can see the outside from inside. The use of LEGO bricks continues inside. The central pillar is reminiscent of a towering robot, a quiet sentry that surveys the space to check if everyone’s enjoying their time. To exit the structure, visitors can either walk towards one of the openings or use the yellow slide on the other side. On one of the walls, there’s a brick-built board and a treasure of LEGO blocks just below it, so visitors can pick up pieces, pin them onto the interactive structure, and shape them into how they want them to be. It’s the essence of the LEGO-built Play Pavilion, an intentional design by Sir Peter Cook.

The Play Pavilion, designed by Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab), in collaboration with Serpentine and the LEGO Group © Peter Cook (Peter Cook Studio Crablab) | images courtesy of Serpentine; photos by Andy Stagg, unless stated otherwise

live activations throughout the summer of 2025

Sir Peter Cook describes the Play Pavilion with LEGO brick designs as a piece of theater, but the structure can recall the form of an observatory, too. From afar, the geometric roof already announces the presence of the orange playground. As visitors walk up closer to it, they then see the partly obscured body that completes it. In a location full of greenery, the Play Pavilion breathes in a refreshed life, luring in the visitors to come closer and find out more within. In the words of the architect, ‘a child might pop out on a slide, another may crawl through a hole on the ground, mystifying conventional entrance routes. Another mouth-shaped opening reveals an orator, performer, or singer entertaining eavesdroppers beyond.’

The LEGO-built Play Pavilion by Sir Peter Cook continues the series of programs presented by Serpentine. In 2022, Serpentine, the London Lions Basketball Club, and artist Alvaro Barrington partnered with CONSUL, Tower Hamlets Council, and Weavers Adventure Playground in Bethnal Green to create a basketball court. Today, it’s an orange pavilion that doubles as public art, with walls that present a series of tactile installations. For the gallery, these new initiatives bring together artists, designers, architects, and creatives to champion the spirit of play and community. The LEGO-built Play Pavilion by Sir Peter Cook is a platform for live activations throughout the summer of 2025.

view of the slide at the pavilion

the roof has a geometric design and a similar shade of the base

the walls present a series of tactile installations

inside, there’s a board where visitors can pin the LEGO bricks

portrait of Sir Peter Cook | photo by Gary Summers

Sir Peter Cook designs the pavilion commission for Serpentine and the LEGO Group | photo by Gary Summers

project info:

name: Play Pavilion

architect: Sir Peter Cook | @sirpetercook

team: Pablo Wheldon, Cong Ding

program: Serpentine Galleries | @serpentineuk

collaborator: LEGO Group | @lego

on view: June 11th to August 10th, 2025

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Using text prompts, users can generate their own buildable LEGO designs à la OpenAI’s ChatGPT with LegoGPT. Designed by the researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, it can produce physically stable LEGO brick models based on text inputs. The AI language model uses a dataset of LEGO structures paired with descriptive captions. It predicts where to put the individual LEGO bricks using next-token prediction. After it gives the results, users just follow the ‘design plan’ to start building their generated models using their existing bricks or produce their custom bricks for the design. LegoGPT even uses a validity check to make sure that each LEGO brick is in the right place.

The ChatGPT-like dataset used to train LegoGPT, called StableText2Lego, includes more than 47,000 LEGO structures. These represent more than 28,000 3D objects. Then, each structure comes with a caption that describes the model in natural language. The ChatGPT for LEGO also includes a feature that assigns colors and surface textures to the buildable structures still based on the text prompts. Another feature noted by the researchers is that the project can be assembled by either a human or a robot (arm).

all images courtesy of the researchers from Carnegie Mellon University

researchers convert the real brick models into ‘digital’ formats

The ChatGPT for LEGO starts when the researchers convert and scan the real models into digital formats, so the computers can analyze and save them. They do this by turning each design into a sequence of text tokens. Basically, these are written descriptions of each LEGO brick, ordered from bottom to top like poetry stanzas. Then, these sequences are paired with descriptions of what the models represent. All this forms a training dataset, which is then used to teach a language model how to predict LEGO brick layouts.

When users give LegoGPT a prompt, it begins building the model one brick at a time. After placing each brick, it checks if the brick is valid, doesn’t overlap with others, and fits with the rest of the structure. It’s the phase when the system generates different structures, and each variation goes through stability analysis. Because of this, the ChatGPT for LEGO removes the designs that aren’t physically ‘stable’ from the dataset, such as parts that are weak and could fall apart in the process. The full dataset, trained models, and source code of LegoGPT are available for public use and download. The researchers – composed of Ava Pun, Kangle Deng, Ruixuan Liu, Deva Ramanan, Changliu Liu, and Jun‑Yan Zhu of Carnegie Mellon University – have also uploaded the demo site for the users to try.

the AI language model uses a dataset of LEGO structures paired with descriptive captions

text prompt used: couch with vintage floral tapestry and deep reds and golds

users just follow the ‘design plan’ to start building their generated models using their existing bricks

users can generate their own buildable LEGO designs à la OpenAI’s ChatGPT with LegoGPT

LegoGPT, the ChatGPT for custom LEGO designs, shows users how to build their own models

at the present time, the current dataset includes more than 47,000 LEGO structures

project info:

name: LegoGPT

researchers: Ava Pun, Kangle Deng, Ruixuan Liu, Deva Ramanan, Changliu Liu, Jun‑Yan Zhu

institution: Carnegie Mellon University | @carnegiemellon

study: here

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