Can we build full-size buildings using LEGO-like bricks?

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📓 The short answer

While actual LEGO bricks are too precise, weak, and expensive for real buildings, several modern construction methods use interlocking, LEGO-like blocks made from earth, foam, or composites to build strong, efficient structures faster and with less labor.

📚 The long answer

For over a century, steel frames, concrete slabs, and wooden beams have dominated the construction industry — but building them requires lots of labor, specialized skills, and time to construct.

What if construction took a page from playtime?

Today, several building methods are seemingly inspired by LEGO® bricks. Let's dive in (and hope we don't step on a *Lego while we're at it).

Method #1: Interlocking compressed earth blocks

Humans have been using raw earth to construct buildings for thousands of years. But we've recently put a spin on this ancient technique by pressing the blocks into interlocking shapes and adding a special ingredient.

Interlocking compressed earth blocks (ICEBs) are made by compressing soil with a bit of cement, forming bricks that don’t need mortar. Oftentimes, this method uses soil straight from the construction site, cutting down on material costs. When cement is added, it allows the soil to bond and provide significant structural strength.

While there is a risk of water absorption, research has found that introducing bacteria to the mix adds self-healing properties. The bacteria brings on calcite crystallization which continuously covers any cracks that form.

Method #2: Insulated concrete forms

The next method looks more like a Lego but requires a bit more concrete than your typical Lego set.

Insulated concrete formwork (ICF) uses hollow polystyrene foam blocks that stack like giant Legos. Once assembled and reinforced with steel, the blocks are filled with concrete to form sturdy, insulated walls.

One design and construction firm leaned into the Lego-ness of ICF and used colored foam blocks to create a Lego-lookalike house in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Cullum Homes built the Lego-like house to support Special Olympics Arizona. Unfortunately, the Lego appearance was only temporary and the home has since been covered in stucco and painted over with much less fun colors for the current homeowner.

Method #3: RENCO blocks

Of all these methods, RENCO blocks come closest to real Legos. As CEO and president of RENCO USA Kenneth Smuts puts it, "They're like adult-size Legos on steroids."

RENCO interlocking blocks, made from recycled plastic, resin, stone, and glass fiber, are assembled using a glue gun and mallet. The company says these composite material blocks are 23x stronger and 75% lighter than concrete.

Workers follow color-coded instructions showing which RENCO blocks go where, stack them into place, pound them with a rubber mallet, and apply a special adhesive to fuse the blocks together. There's no need for complex tools, specialized labor, or much heavy or loud machinery.

The blocks are used to build everything from walls to floors to roofs — fast. RENCO's first U.S. project used the blocks to construct a four-building, 96-unit apartment complex in Lake Worth Beach, Florida.

The project took just around eight weeks for 11 laborers to build while following the simple color-coded plans. Smuts claims a similar project using conventional building methods would have needed 50 workers and twice the time.

Legos for the win.

🧠 Bonus brain points

Can we build full-size buildings using actual LEGO bricks?

Legos are made using a plastic called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, which can withstand compression better than concrete. A single Lego brick can support the weight of 375,000 other bricks before it fails.

No wonder it hurts to much to step on a Lego.

But this strength begs the question: Could you build a full-size building only using Legos? The answer is no.

Legos are an unsuitable construction material for many reasons:

1. They lack horizontal strength, so you could easily push down a wall or break a structural beam with little force.
2. Legos aren't water-proof, so you'd have constant leaks.
3. Legos are too precise to handle real-world imperfections, like a slightly uneven concrete slab.
4. Legos are too expensive. A $10 sheet of drywall would cost $2,000 in Legos—plus hours of assembly.​

Look at you, you finished the newsletter! Here's a Lego meme for your reading habits.

--- Thanks for reading this week's newsletter! If you have any thoughts, questions, or favorite GIFs, my inbox is always open. Just hit reply to send me a note! :) ​ All my best, Caitlin ​Click here to read five facts about Caitlin​

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​Sources for this week's newsletter​

*Apparently, "LEGO" is an adjective so the correct phrasing of the block is "LEGO brick" rather than "LEGO" or "Lego", but, like Seth Meyers said, it's too late for me.

🌐 Wikipedia article of the week

​Capitol Hill mystery soda machine​

"The Capitol Hill mystery soda machine was a vending machine in Capitol Hill, Seattle, notable for its "mystery" buttons which dispensed unusual drink flavors. It is unknown who restocked the machine, which originally caused the development of a local legend that the machine was haunted."

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👀 Catch up on other curious questions

• ​Why are skyscrapers made of glass?​​
• ​How do birds navigate during migration?​​
• ​Why are motorcycles so loud?​​

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