Lego has opened at number 9 of the Paseo de Gracia in Barcelona a Flagship Store designed and built under the ‘Retailtainment’ concept, being the first store built within this format in Europe, and the third in the world. In the pre-opening before the media, there was expectation among the pedestrians who passed in front of the facade of the new Lego store in Barcelona.
A facade that hid (today Friday it has already been inaugurated for the public) the entire Lego universe represented in a store that reflects the innovative and creative spirit of the firm, but also from Barcelona, thanks to a new experience based on interactivity and digitization as entertainment.
Gaudí’s monuments reproduced with exactitude
Because without a doubt, the great source of inspiration for this new Flagship Store is Barcelona’s culture and architecture. And especially, the creations of Gaudí. In the 800 square meters of the new Lego store you can breathe modernism and art.
In fact, the essence of the style of the trencadis, popularized by Gaudí, is one of the common threads of this establishment which is not lacking in detail. Fernando Nasuti-Wood, Senior Marketing Director of the Lego Group for Spain, France and Portugal, explained to us after the presentation that “Barcelona is a source of creativity, it is pure color and his passion for architecture, its mosaics and the trencadís technique we They make you think directly of the Lego game system. For us, Barcelona is a 100% Lego city ”.
“Barcelona is an iconic city, a destination city, very touristy, and with a formidable wealth and capacity for innovation, values that we at Lego share with Barcelona, apart from architecture and modernism, which have served as inspiration. for the design of the store “, explains Fernando Nasuti-Wood about the choice of Barcelona to open this Flagship Store.
Within the framework of this philosophy, the store can see how some of the most famous monuments of Barcelona have been recreated using Lego pieces. Among them, a realistic (and spectacular) reproduction of the Sagrada Familia stands out, built with more than 218,000 Lego pieces during 1,223 hours of work.
Behind the window we can also see a faithful reproduction of Park Güell weighing more than 650 kilos. In this case, 1,570 hours of work have been needed to fit the 256,000 pieces of Lego that make up the construction.
In the center of the store rises one of the store’s most iconic elements, the ‘Discovery tree‘, a colorful and dynamic construction almost 4 meters high, 1,600 kg. of weight that represents Lego’s own history, and the evolution of children through the use of the Danish firm’s products. From the Duplo pieces at the bottom, to the Lego Technic pieces at the top.
In the treetop you can see three small models that represent Barcelona: the parrots, the chameleon and the traditional barretina hat. In addition, around the tree there is a river of colored bricks and small pieces of tiles inspired by Gaudí’s mosaics. To build this tree, which also represents sustainability and diversity, 889,000 pieces have been used, requiring 1,900 hours of work to complete it.
The space also stands out as soon as you enter the new store pets: Antoni and Drago. Two characters who pay homage to Antonio Gaudí and the iconic Park Güell dragon, and who welcome interacting with visitors. The novelty is that facial expression is changing thanks to a digital ink screen. A novelty in Spain that can also be seen in another maxifigure sitting at the wheel of a car also built with Lego pieces.
Digitization and personalized products, keys to the Flagship Store
Along with modernist design and inspiration, digitization and personalized products will be the differential elements of this store designed to inspire creativity, enhance the game and help find the future builders of tomorrow, as explained by the global manager for Lego Retail, Natali Stojovic.
Designed and built under the concept of ‘Retailtainment’, the new Flagship Store Barcelona (the first two were inaugurated in New York and Guangzhou, in China), offers a mix of physical and digital experiences that have never been seen in Lego stores in Spain thanks to the use of technology when offering unique elements.
A technology that makes Flagship Store de Gracia in the store model of the future. Nasuti-Wood explained to Decoesfera that the objective of this store is for boys, girls, and families to have a unique experience, for the recreation of emblematic monuments, but also for the customization options, or for having the largest assortment that exists from Lego, offering all the unique or hard-to-find products. “
Among the customization options discussed by the Lego Group Senior Marketing Director for Spain, France and Portugal. highlights for example the minifigure factory: an interactive kiosk in which visitors can digitally design their own Lego minifigures to personalize them and have a unique figure that no one else can have, since in addition to the pre-designed patterns, freehand drawings, text, or unique designs can be entered created for the Barcelona store.
Another of the most striking elements of the new store is the Mosaic Maker, a space in which Lego fans can build their own portrait with pieces from the Danish brand. You just need to take a photo in the photo booth installed in the store, and automatically, the machine turns the portrait into a mosaic made with Lego pieces. Within minutes, the visitor receives the necessary pieces and printed instructions to be able to build the portrait when they get home.
There is also a Storytelling Table, an interactive table where Lego fans can learn details of the history of some sets of this Scandinavian company.
Large assortment of products (many, exclusive)
In the new Barcelona store (the seventh in Spain, after the other two in Barcelona, the two in Madrid, and those in Zaragoza and Seville) you will find a wide assortment of products, among which there will be many that will be exclusive, such as case of the recreation of Camp Nou, the stadium of FC Barcelona. A recreation reproduced in detail and that recreates the players’ tunnel, the VIP entrance and the press section, as can be seen in the recreation installed next to a giant magnifying glass so that nothing escapes from view
Lego breaks a plate of two meters in diameter to celebrate the inauguration
Prior to the presentation to the media, Lego organized an event in the Spanish Village located in Montjuic in which the comedian Eva Hache, together with Martin Urrutia, Director of Innovation at LEGO Retail, threw against the ground, from several meters high, a giant plate made with 62,000 LEGO pieces.
The plate that was broken before the guests was transformed into thousands of Lego bricks that were collected by the guests, and that served to shape different constructions of free creativity as a tribute to the technique of Catalan origin of trencadís inside the new store .
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