Home : Canada : Montreal landmark wins Lego contest, but not immortality

The Canadian Press

Date: Wednesday Mar. 7, 2012 1:21 PM ET

MONTREAL A quirky Montreal landmark has won an international competition among Lego enthusiasts -- but the thrill of victory has been tempered by the sting of rejection.

The Habitat 67 housing complex won an Internet vote, beating out iconic structures like Paris' Eiffel Tower, Rome's Coliseum and the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington D.C.

The Lego company, without making any promises, had said it would consider creating a toy set inspired by the winning entry.

But the company has announced there won't be a toy version of Montreal's Habitat 67, at least not for now. Lego says it will consider such a project in the future.

Designed by Israeli-Canadian architect Moshe Safdie, Habitat 67 is a unique project built for the city's world fair in 1967. It's an integrated series of blocks of housing units near downtown Montreal's waterfront. It was declared a historic site by Quebec in 2009.

The company says it can't commit to building something just because it won a contest.

"It takes more than popularity to make the grade as a Lego Architecture icon," the company noted on its website.

Originally posted here:
Montreal landmark wins Lego contest, but not immortality