Lost Tablets by MvS Architects

Jury citation: Lego has come a long way since its early days of rigid gender boundaries and “idealized” settings (the hospital set now includes female doctors). It retains its kit-of-parts formula but has crossed over from child’s play alone. Its Technic imaginaries, sci-fi worlds and major, reminiscent of deconstructivism and other “isms,” is intriguing and delightful. The imposed constraints on form and material deliberately create symbiosis and dichotomy between the sheer and undulating faces of each tablet. Exemplified in Ryou-Un Maru (pictured), the method of obscuring the Lego studs is in itself artful. The Lost Tablets remind us of the cuneiform clay tablets of the Nabonidus Chronicle. The type, according to MvS Architects, references Parthenon ruins, but the tablets are too composed to be allegories of destruction. These idealized montages are intense, punctuated by architectural forms and devices. They are inventive, utilizing the constraints of Lego’s predetermined kit-of-parts. The mostly monotone pieces take Lego into the speculative architectural realm. They are too solemn and delicate to be truly playful, but still offer wonderment. Architect’s description: Lost Tablets is a series of 36 architectural studies which express a tension between a universally recognizable children’s toy and the grammar of architectural semiotics.