70 years of the LEGO System in Play
70 years ago, the LEGO Group introduced the System in Play – a simple but revolutionary idea that means every LEGO element, made generations apart, would fit together.
At its heart, the System in Play ensures that every element, from tiny hairbrushes to lightsabres, can connect. It’s why a LEGO astronaut can visit the LEGO Boutique Hotel, or a DUPLO giraffe can join a LEGO City adventure.
Versatility as foundation for creativity
This versatility has made the LEGO System in Play the foundation for endless creativity. The same handful of bricks can be used to build anything from spaceships to castles to trains – limited only by imagination. And perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the houses that children around the world, and our LEGO designers, have been inspired to build from the System in Play over the last 70 years.
Houses have been a mainstay of LEGO sets since the LEGO System in Play was launched in October 1955. They have appeared in every conceivable shape and style, mirroring changes in society and the lives of the children who build and play with them.
Looking back
LEGO designer Stijn Oom, who designed 2024’s LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Modern House (#31153), was inspired in part by “the fun I had building houses out of LEGO bricks when I was a kid”.
Seventy years on, the System in Play continues to shape and inspire every LEGO set – including the iconic houses. To mark the anniversary of this revolutionary system, we’re looking back through the LEGO archive to explore how the System in Play has evolved, and how it continues to make such imaginative designs possible.
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