LEGO Celebrates Children’s Play with ‘Launderette of Dreams’

LONDON — The LEGO Group and award-winning artist and designer Yinka Ilori recently hosted the “Launderette of Dreams,” an interactive art installation and play space inspired by the creative optimism and resilience of children.

The installation drew on Ilori’s childhood memories of visiting the local laundromat in North London with his family. It was during these trips that he first remembers his imagination to make the most mundane everyday routines more playful.

Ilori used over 200,000 LEGO^® bricks to “gamify” the machines and décor usually found in a self-service laundry, turning them into interactive play experiences that feature the artist’s bold graphics and colorful style.

The design was inspired by children from Ilori’s former primary school. On a visit to the local laundry, he asked the young students how they would rebuild the space for the better and bring people in the community together.

From kaleidoscope laundry drums and giant mural walls to colorful hopscotch flooring and vending machines that dispensed LEGO toys instead of soap, the space demonstrated how children use play and their creative problem-solving skills to turn everyday experiences into adventures.

“Community launderettes are essential to the fabric and DNA of many communities,” Ilori says. “I hope the ‘Launderette of Dreams’ inspires both adults and children to believe they can dream and create anywhere.”

“Like Yinka, children are brimming with amazing ideas for how to rebuild the world around them for the better and use play to transform the mundane into a magical experience,” says Alero Akuya, vice president of Global Brand Development at the LEGO Group. “Their creative optimism inspires us every day, and we hope the ‘Launderette of Dreams’ shows how fun and playful the world around us can be when approached with a bit of childlike imagination and joy.”

Check out a video on the making of “Launderette of Dreams”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feo6GeZqxss

Artist Yinka Ilori poses outside his “Launderette of Dreams,” an interactive art installation and play space inspired by the creative optimism and resilience of children. Ilori used LEGO® bricks to create his vision within the London self-service laundry his family often visited when he was a child. (Photos: © Mark Cocksedge, for LEGO Group)

Ilori used over 200,000 LEGO® bricks to create everything from kaleidoscope laundry drums and giant mural walls to colorful hopscotch flooring and vending machines that dispensed LEGO toys instead of soap.

“Community launderettes are essential to the fabric and DNA of many communities,” says Ilori, pictured here watching children play in his interactive art installation.

Have a question or comment? E-mail our editor Bruce Beggs at [email protected].