Lego: If children designed Singapore 2065

It’s Singapore’s 50th anniversary as an independent nation, or SG50. So there are carnivals, concerts..and campaigns…

Grey Group Singapore has launched the Sound of Singapore. This will be Singapore’s first-ever, fully crowd-sourced soundtrack that captures the essence of Singapore. The Sound will be created by combining an array of hallmark Singapore sounds – the sound of a sizzling wok at a hawker centre, the shaking of Chinese fortune sticks in a temple or the closing of train doors at an MRT station – it depends on what is submitted by Singaporeans from all walks of life.

Lego Singapore is marking the occasion with a film that reimagined the city in Lego. According to Lego Singapore, it shares a spirit of mutual consideration with Singapore – it’s a brand that hopes to encourage everyone to create and share joy through play.

So it got together with iris Worldwide on a social experiment called Rebuild, that began by asking AFOLs (Adult Fans of Lego) in Singapore to create in Lego blocks what the city might look like in the next 50 years.

These grown-up ideas included futuristic skyscrapers, massive highways and towering offices.

Then Lego asked a group of six year old children to make it better. The kids added park and animals, and moved homes next to offices so their parents can be home earlier.

Iris then created the film that is part of a wider SG50 campaign called Rebuild Your Memories.

Iris Worldwide creative director, Ed Cheong, explained, “Because most of us working on the project are young enough to embrace the wonders of living in a metropolis, and yet old enough to remember life before the city rapidly transformed, the insights were lived rather than observed. The idea was to physically build what the picture of progress looks like for a futuristic metropolis, only to give the next generation the freedom to rebuild what we’ve done.

“As a Singaporean born and raised, I’m proud to have witnessed the rapid progress made by our young nation. But beneath the sleek skyline of our metropolis are age-old values and characters that make a global city – home. Celebrations aside, we wanted to deliver a powerful reminder to fellow urbanites that even when we do arrive at SG100, some things should never be forgotten.”

“We saw what progress looks like through the eyes of six-year-old kids, what their dream city would be. It was fascinating to see what their priorities were for Singapore. Sometimes we might lose what is most important in the pursuit of development – spending time with loved ones, and taking care of our communities. That is what togetherness is all about, and that is what celebrating SG50 is all about,” Dan Luo, country manager of Lego Singapore, added.

The campaign launched when Lego Singapore held its Rebuild Your Memories Competition in June, followed by the launch of the four Lego SG50 Limited Edition Singapore Icons Mini Builds.