Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
RICHMOND — Nathan Sawaya went from being a lawyer to a certified LEGO builder with 10 million bricks in his studio, ordering a quarter million bricks every month to work on his art. “It’s been a dream come true,” Sawaya said. “Creating art out of LEGOs made me happy.” Sawaya has studios in New York and Los Angeles and travels the world showcasing his art, which includes large-scale sculptures. His work shows how building bricks and sets are no longer just for children. LEGO’s popularity has significantly increased in recent years, according to the company. Consumer sales increased 12% last year. LEGO recently expanded its footprint around the globe. That includes the 1.7- million-square-foot LEGO factory in Chesterfield County. It will open in 2027 along with a distribution center in Prince George County. The factory site will include 13 buildings and will create an estimated 1,700 jobs, according to LEGO. The company is investing over $1.5 billion on the project. The company recently celebrated a construction milestone by placing the final structural beam in the plant’s main production building. The beam was topped with a LEGO-brick tree. Sawaya said his bricks are usually shipped from Europe, and he hopes the new production and distribution centers will expedite product delivery. Sawaya believes creating art is key and that LEGO’s universality allows people to access different forms of creative expression. “Art has the ability to enhance education and be therapeutic,” Sawaya said. In addition to bringing jobs, the company is investing in the community in other ways. LEGO recently provided six grants to the Science Museum of Virginia, Children’s Museum of Richmond, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond, SOAR365, YMCA of Greater Richmond and James River Association. The company estimates that support of these programs could reach nearly 100,000 children. LEGO’s Virginia center could provide the opportunity of community collaboration, according to Marcia Winter, associate professor of developmental psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. “With LEGO being local, if they can sort of be out in the community and working with kids and families, I think there may be some real opportunities to help,” Winter said. LEGOs can expand vocabulary and social skills among kids and encourage creative play among all ages, Winter said. The building pieces have potential to foster creativity due to the open-ended play. “If you think about all of those skills that they’re using, those are all things that are foundational for success in things like writing, drawing, sorting and counting,” Winter said. LEGO can also provide adults with additional psychological benefits, according to Winter. The creation of patterns and order through building can shift the brain and help it calm down. “When we’re really stressed out, what happens is that the amygdala, which is sort of the alarm system of the brain, kind of takes over and it can get pretty overactive,” Winter said. “If you start doing activities that are sort of repetitive, that you need to sort of make patterns and make order, it can actually sort of shift your brain’s energy.” Annie Lee uses LEGOs as a form of stress release. The building bricks could be used to promote engineering and STEM education. She hopes to see that for Virginia and the U.S. “I think we’ve recognized that STEM is something that is lacking in the United States,” Lee said. “I think there’s kind of a huge opportunity there.” Adult builders and fans can even find community through the Adult Fans of LEGO group. LEGO now has over 200 advanced sets and kits for people age 18 and up. The creative sets range from nostalgic movies such as “The Goonies,” “Gremlins” or “Star Wars” to technology, botanicals and other novelties. “The thing about LEGO is, everyone has played with it,” Sawaya said. “It’s the world’s most popular toy, it’s universal.” Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Communication. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia.
