Brickman Wonders of the World: For families and kids at heart

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BRONTË H. LACSAMANA

SOME of the world’s most iconic landmarks as recreated using thousands of Lego bricks by Ryan McNaught (a Lego-certified professional also known as “The Brickman”) are now on view in the Philippines for the first time in an exhibit at The Space at Solaire in Entertainment City.

It’s worth checking out, whether you’re in it to relive how it was like playing with blocks in your childhood, or to pull your kids away from their phones for a tactile experience. Either way, it’s a holiday treat, perfect for spending time with family and unlocking one’s inner child.

As soon as you enter, you are greeted by the “Ancient Wonders of the World,” the most eye-catching of which is the Great Pyramid of Giza in the center. The great thing about the displays is that they tell you everything about the build — its size, weight, the number of bricks used, and the hours it took for the designer/builder to create it.

In the case of the Great Pyramid, Mr. McNaught spent 71 hours putting together the iconic landmark, using 28,259 Lego bricks.

Aside from marveling over those facts, guests get to engage with the structure indirectly (since no one is allowed to touch it) by building their own mini pyramids with the sand-colored Lego blocks surrounding it. It’s specifically for the kids, because the moat is mounted very low, allowing the younger ones to play and let their imaginations run wild.

Wandering through the exhibit can be done in 15 minutes if you’re there just to look at each structure, but playing with the bricks provided and staring closely at the little figurines placed inside guarantees a whole afternoon of fun and creativity. You get to travel the world admiring Lego versions of monuments like Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer, France’s Arc de Triomphe, India’s Taj Mahal, and Britain’s Big Ben and Stonehenge.

In total, there are 45 Wonders of the World in the exhibit.

“It comes in five different shipping containers via sea and they are brought here and unloaded,” Samantha Sewell, GMG Productions’ executive producer, told BusinessWorld, explaining the process for setting up the exhibit. “Brickman professionals come and set everything up for us. It took three or four days to put it all together.”

The tallest structure in the exhibit is the replica of Michelangelo’s statue of David, which towers over everything else at 2,560 millimeters in height. It was designed by Russell Søren-Larson and built by Claire Ashworth. The longest structure in the exhibit is the Tokyo Subway System map, at 4,650 millimeters in length. It was designed by Mr. McNaught and built by Ms. Ashworth and Troy Walker.

FOR KIDS AND ADULTS
For Ms. Sewell, the best part about the exhibit is seeing the children engage with the artworks and play with the bricks.

“They can sit down on the carpeted floor, use their hands, go around the world, be inspired, and do things themselves. Exhibitions are great when you can walk around, but for it to be tactile like that is unique to Brickman,” she explained. “They invite you to do that.”

Carlos Candal, chief executive officer of GMG Productions, told BusinessWorld that it’s a cathartic experience for parents as well.

“I’m fed up with my children being on their iPads all the time,” he said candidly. “When we came around, my son played with the Legos, built a little pyramid next to the Giant Pyramid, and we took some Lego sets home.”

“It’s good for parenting because the Philippines is number one in social media in the world. We have to get kids to re-engage in more traditional play,” he added.

Ms. Sewell clarified that adults get a lot out of the exhibit, too. For example, the most complex structures in it are engineering marvels — most notably the model of the doomed ship Titanic, made up of 133,900 bricks, built over 240 hours by Mitchell Kruik and The Brickman himself.

It is one of the highlights of the show, with the ship broken in half above water, the sinews of the interior in plain view, and the lifeboats of people scrambling to get away as it sinks painting a tragic picture. Figurines of Jack and Rose, from the film Titanic, can be spotted atop the deck.

“There are so many little Easter eggs that the Lego figurines are doing that only adults will catch and appreciate. If you look close enough, you’ll see so many of them,” Ms. Sewell said.

Himeji Castle is another example. Made of 71,392 bricks and built over 185 hours by Mr. McNaught and Mr. Walker, its facade looks just like the famed Japanese castle, but behind it is a cross-section of its interior with figurines playing out scenes on each level — sumo wrestlers, katana-wielding samurai, and even Karate Kid characters doing karate.

Other notable movie references are King Kong atop New York’s Empire State Building, familiar fish from Finding Nemo swimming in the Great Barrier Reef, and a certain hunchback and figures of gargoyles in Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Towards the end of the exhibit, there is a Mystery Mosaic mounted on the wall, with a Lego play area allowing visitors to build a portion of the mosaic on a small plate. It lets everyone participate in making a mystery piece together, before heading to the souvenir shop, then going home.

THE SPACE AT SOLAIRE
Solaire Resort Entertainment City in Parañaque hosted the exhibit in its relatively new event venue, The Space at Solaire, located on the third level, just a few steps away from The Theatre.

It spans over 1,400 square meters, described as “a modern facility for up to 500 guests that can be converted to host corporate functions, art exhibitions and immersive experiences, among other events.”

GMG Productions’ Mr. Candal told BusinessWorld that they had wanted to bring the Brickman Wonders of the World exhibit to the Philippines for years now but had to wait for the right venue to open.

“The Theatre along with The Space make up the top-class entertainment hub in the Philippines now,” he said. “I asked Solaire back in March if I could have the space, and they agreed.”

On how he expects the exhibition will do, he explained that its “worldwide appeal” makes it one of the best experiences that can be brought from around the world. It is also just the first of many more planned in the coming years.

“We have a lot in store in the next few years. The plan is to keep bringing the best experiences — not just mall activations, but proper, international-standard major attractions — to The Space,” he said.

Brickman Wonders of the World runs until Feb. 8 at Solaire Resort in Entertainment City, Parañaque. Santa Claus is present at the attraction until Jan. 4, from 1 to 6 p.m., for kids to interact and take pictures with.

Tickets, roughly P1,500 for adults and P750 for kids, are on sale exclusively via TicketWorld. Family packages are available. — Brontë H. Lacsamana