Playable Design

Today I was organizing my books, and found the is one to share with everyone. — “LEGO ROOM”

Home is a museum of your passions — a space filled with the things you truly love. In my life, LEGO bricks naturally find their way into every corner, transforming ordinary furniture into personalized pieces with a distinctive Lego-inspired style.

To me, LEGO is more than a hobby — it’s a way of living, full of possibilities. It allows me to turn my home into a canvas for creativity.

Imagine creating your own artwork anytime based on your mood — ever-changing and full of expression. Or use photos to decorate LEGO sets, turning them into heartfelt gifts for your children — gifts that carry a sense of identity and belonging.

You can even craft brick “qinghua porcelain” tiles for your bathroom, with each piece featuring a unique pattern. It’s a fun, hands-on project — why not give it a try?

COSMO just did a special edition on Healing Through Play: A Mindful Rebellion at Your Fingertips 玩物造心 指尖上的治愈与反骨

It’s so nice to have my stories shared and some photos taken of my studio 😊
I’m a LEGO Certified Professional who doesn’t just follow instructions—I write them. My canvas is the community, and my tool is play. I once turned a Beijing hutong into a collaborative workshop, where residents used LEGO bricks to build their dream neighborhood, translating their needs into an architectural blueprint. Transforming colorful bricks into tools for social impact, architectural visualization, and meaningful connections.

With the LEGO botanical collections not only inspires me play with flower arrangements, lately also picked up “baking sweets”, 😝 perfect combo for your sweet tooth and happy moods ♥️ 💜 ❤️ come check out our flower cafe, high tea style.

My favorite element to play with at the moment is the LEGO transparent bricks, with botanical collections is so beautiful, perfect for home decor.

A story from seventeen years ago has come full circle today.

I was in Chengdu, to challenge a Guinness World Record of “Most contributions to a LEGO brick colour-by-numbers in 8 hours”. During an interview, I was asked about my impression of Chengdu city, and it reminded me of my first visit here in 2007, which was connected to a building and an architect. Back then, no one knew that Liu Jiakun’s name would appear in the list of winners for the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize.

At that time, I was curating an architectural exhibition in New York City, at the Center for Architecture. The exhibition focused on the stories of five architectural works by five Chinese architects. One was architect Liu Jiakun, and his work—the Jianchuan Museum town in Chengdu. Later, I curated his work again at the “2009 Shenzhen Hong Kong Architecture and Urbanism Biennale, which felt like fate.

Today, right after my event, we met again at the Yulin Song Design Space in Chengdu, I gave him a LEGO mosaic artwork “Big Red Flower” that I made to congratulate him. 😄

From the architecture exhibition seventeen years ago to today, we have both embarked on long journeys. The world can be truly amazingly surprising sometimes.

Congratulations to Mr. Liu Jiakun for winning the 2025 Pritzker Architecture Prize, the highest international honor in the field of architecture. This not only recognizes his achievements but also marks the status of contemporary Chinese architecture on the global stage.

Image 1 & 2: Mr. Liu Jiakun and I at the “Yulin Song Design Space”
Image 3 & 4: 2009 Shenzhen Hongkong Architecture and Urbanism Biennale, “Drifting with the Wind” installation by Liu Jiakun
Image 5 &6: posters from “Building China: Five Projects, Five Stores” at the Center for Architecture (AIA)

On International Women’s Day: Playable Design, We Claimed Another Guinness World Record!

On March 8th, in collaboration “With the City”, we launched the “Thousand-People Guinness World Record Challenge”—a spectacular event that culminated in success after months of planning, rehearsals, and preparation. What made it even more special, It unfolded on International Women’s Day! 🎉🎉 🎉

over 1,300 participants worked and played together to assemble a “giant LEGO mosaic artwork” (9 meters wide x 2.5 meters tall). The mural created with iconic symbols of Chengdu’s culture and lifestyle, including many panda motifs, iconic architecture Shuangji Twin Towers, hotpot, Sichuan Opera face masks, and recently discovered Sanxingdui archiological artifacts.

Official Guinness World Record Title Achieved:
“Most contributions to a LEGO brick colour-by-numbers in 8 hours”.

For International Women’s Day,
I give a talk at TEDxXuhui at the lyceum theatre, Shanghai, it was such amazing experience ♥️ 💜

TED talks is the stage for exchanging ideas

From children to the public, from bricks to communities, I’ve seen the power of play not only in the creations we build but also in how it changes the way we see each other. LEGO bricks are the tools and medium I’ve chosen for play, but that’s just the beginning. The real value lies in the possibilities we create together.

Next time, when you see a pile of bricks—or anything that brings you joy, whether it’s plants and flowers in nature or everyday objects like paper—pause, and play with the people around you. You might find that changing the world starts right at this moment.

As a LEGO Certified Professional, I was delighted to be invited by LEGO China LBR to create with LEGO Botanical Collections, I love it, look how we play with roses🌹
Whether in myths, gardens, or poetry, roses continue to enchant us with their beauty and rich symbolism. 🌹✨ Here are some delightful and fascinating inspirations about roses for you.

nature’s timeless beauties:

Blooming History
- Ancient Blooms: Roses have existed for over 35 million years! Fossil evidence shows they grew wild long before humans appeared.
- Cultural Icons: In ancient Greece and Rome, roses were linked to “Aphrodite/Venus”(goddess of love). The flower symbolized secrecy—“sub rosa” (under the rose) meant confidential conversations.

Rose in Colors
- Red = Passion
- Pink = Gratitude
- White = Purity (often used in weddings)
- Yellow = Friendship (but in Victorian times, it meant jealousy!).
- Black Roses?: True black roses don’t exist! “Black” varieties are deep red or purple, like the ‘Black Baccara’.

Global Roses
- Rose Valley: Bulgaria’s “Valley of Roses” produces 70-85% of the world’s rose oil—a key ingredient in perfumes. It takes 4,000 kg of petals to make 1 liter of oil!

Fun & Unusual Facts
- Edible Petals: Rose petals are edible! They’re used in teas, jams (like Persian *gulkand*), and desserts.
- Rose Hip Power: The fruit of roses (rose hips) packs 20x more vitamin C than oranges.
- Longest-Lived Rose: The 1,000-year-old Rose of Hildesheim in Germany grows on a cathedral wall and still blooms yearly.

Science & Scent
- Perfume Gold: Rose oil is one of the most expensive essential oils—it takes 10,000 roses to make 5 ml of oil!
- Fragrance Therapy: Rose scent is known to reduce stress and boost mood in aromatherapy.

LEGO Group just launched all “Four Gentlemen” The orchid (spring), the bamboo (summer), the chrysanthemum (autumn) and the plum (winter), beautiful plants known as The Four Gentlemen, or The Four Noble Ones. Together, they represent the virtues and continuous circle of the seasons.

With the Lantern Festival, I share with you, my recent recreation of these four beautiful plants, portrayed as traditional “ink and wash paintings” with transparent LEGO bricks, my current favorite 😍. Hahaha

Happy lantern festival to everyone

Truth and illusion, swiftly come and go,
A dreamlike world where fantasies flow.
I was invited to create this beautiful magical world with LEGO Botanical collection!
Together, we discover beauty within reach,
Create a gift for my dearest, beyond speech.
Part of BOTANICAL CAMPAIGN @ LBR CHENGDU

Wish a Happy New Year to every one

One of my favorite initiative by the LEGO Group is the annual campaign.

Just grab any LEGO bricks build a heart and upload a picture on social media with the hashtag . In return, for each heart shared online, LEGO will donate a set and bring the superpower of play to a child in need.

Here is my heart at “Play to expand the world” exhibition in Beijing. We (playable design) also build a large “heart-shape wall-mount” for participants to display their heart creation, gather the power of play and creativity!