House of Dots is located in Coal Drops Yard in London’s Kings Cross and introduce the entirely new 2D tile play concept from the LEGO Group – LEGO DOTS.
Walala’s free public art installation celebrates her shared values with the Lego Brand of creativity, self-expression and accessibility, expressed through the vibrant colours and bold geometric patterns of both the new product and her own signature work.
First up we are in the kitchen where we are invited to dip into Lego Dots pots and design our own bracelets. Whilst the little man is busy unleashing his creativity, I get a chance to admire the intricately adorned walls and I learn that 180 children from Kings Cross Academy helped create the wall installation for Camille Walala’s DOTS kitchen design. Pretty impressive. In fact, everywhere you look the details are mesmerising, shapes and patterns, textures and colours.
When creating LEGO DOTS, LEGO designers were inspired by internal research showing that kids are increasingly looking to shape their creative confidence through more personalised forms of play where they can explore freely and express themselves through their own designs. This particular insight draws on a quantitative study conducted with 10,800 parents and 7,200 children across the US, China and Germany, and among the participants a total of 21,600 play observations were mapped out and used to identify the relevance and concept direction of DOTS.
After we have completed our designs, we are allowed to take them with us, even though the product doesn’t launch until march 2020 (and the toddler is ecstatic).
Upstairs in the bedroom there are more opportunities to get creative and we settle down for another session of creating and decorating. There is also a ball pit – probably the most aesthetically pleasing ball pit I have ever jumped in, and there is a slide (which we went down several times).
Camille Walala, artist, says: “It’s a joy to create a fun space where kids and adults can spontaneously express their creativity, make something beautiful and show off who they are. HOUSE OF DOTS captures all the exuberance and playfulness that people know me for, with something extra special: the chance to let your imagination go wild and create your own work of art. Oh, and a slide.”
HOUSE OF DOTS will remain at Coal Drops Yard until February 2 and can be visited by the public through sign-up here: https://houseofdots.eventbrite.co.uk. Although all the tickets are sold out at the time of writing, there is a possibility of gaining entry via a walk-in on the day. Kids under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.