Urban LEGOs: Conceptual Cure for Civic Blight Blindness

Chances are, you’d notice all of the vacant lots in your city if massive LEGO structures were used to call attention to the wasted space. ‘Habit Makes Us Blind’ is a concept by Spanish studio Espai MGR, digitally filling in unused areas of Valencia with colorful fantasy buildings suggesting how the space could be used.

As years go by, vacant lots – often walled off with ugly temporary fences that are soon covered in spray-painted tags – can almost become invisible to those who pass them on a regular basis.

With urban populations continuing to grow, space is at a premium. While the LEGO structures by Espai MGR aren’t practical in a real-world sense, they do illustrate just how much vertical space is still available, leading one to wonder what it could potentially become.

“This photographic work aims at calling people’s attention, just like painting those isolated walls yellow would. It demands the recreational use of those vacant lots through the eyes of a child, by filling them with impossible constructions, surrealistic installations in line with the problem. A children’s game as a neighbour’s shout, demanding the right to take part in their city.”