Sydney Opera House Immortalised in LEGO Bricks

Sydney Opera House, Australia's iconic masterpiece of late modern architecture, has had its famous sculpted curves recreated in miniature form by the soon to be released LEGO® Architecture range.

Launching in March 2012 for the first time in Australia, the LEGO Architecture collection will initially offer a range of seven brick-built models, all based on famous landmarks and masterpieces of architecture from around the world, including New York's Empire State Building and Seattle's Space Needle.

Offering a perfect mini recreation of Sydney's much-loved landmark, LEGO Architecture's Sydney Opera House features the distinctive white shells, sculptured angles and even the sandstone-coloured concourse, all made using 260 LEGO bricks.

Caroline Squire, Director of Marketing, LEGO Australia comments: "The LEGO Architecture Sydney Opera House seeks to capture the essence of this grand building in a small scale. The LEGO Architecture range uses the iconic LEGO brick to interpret the designs of renowned architecture from around the world and LEGO Australia is proud that Australia's own Sydney Opera House has been chosen as one of the 2012 debut models for this exciting collection."

LEGO Architecture products come in two types: Landmark and Architect. The Landmark series features well-known buildings, while the Architect series focuses on the work of important architects. Jørn Utzon is the third architect to be involved within the range after Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Aimed at inspiring future architects, engineers and designers as well as architecture fans around the world, the range contains a booklet featuring step-by-step building instructions that is prefaced by exclusive, archival history, information and photographs of each iconic building, its design origin, its architect and its architectural features.

Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, the cultural and architectural significance of Sydney Opera House was affirmed in 2007 when UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site and "one of the indisputable masterpieces of human creativity, not only in the 20th century but in the history of humankind."

"Sydney Opera House is thrilled to partner with one of the world's leading toy manufacturers to produce the Sydney Opera House LEGO Architecture set," says Sydney Opera House's Commercial Development Director, Andy Lown. "Sydney Opera House strives to take people on a journey from the ordinary to the extraordinary, whoever and wherever they are, and this licensed range is a great example of how we can deliver our brand to a global audience. We're delighted people from around the world can now build a LEGO brick replica of the House."

Since its opening in 1973 over 45 million people have attended more than 100,000 performances at Sydney Opera House. It's estimated that well over 100 million people have visited the site making it one of Australia's most visited tourist attractions.

The LEGO Sydney Opera House™, RRP AUD $59.99, is available to purchase from March 2012 along with the wider LEGO Architecture range in select David Jones and Myer department stores, as well as The Sydney Opera House and select gift stores around Australia. Please call the LEGO Australia Consumer Service Hotline on 1800 683 100 for stockist information. The product is designed for ages 12 and up and includes a content-rich booklet with facts and history of Sydney Opera House™.