Lithuanians are not afraid of grey, as it is associated not only with cloudy autumn days but also with the architectural wonders of the 20th century that can be found across the country. 100 years ago, a great calamity fell upon Lithuanians when the historical capital Vilnius was lost to Polish forces.

This became an opportunity for another city – KAUNAS, which was chosen as the temporary capital of Lithuania from 1918 till 1939. To show this outstanding Kaunas modernist architecture to the world, I have decided to recreate one of the most iconic buildings in Lithuania from LEGO bricks – the Iljinai Family house.

Now the model is on the LEGO Ideas page, where people can vote for it to become a real LEGO set. However, I think I am getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you a story of how I grew as a brick artist from zero to LEGO.

More info: ideas.lego.com | Instagram | Facebook

It all started in 2018, or even 2008, when I took a camera and started to take pictures of various buildings

I remember this clear as day – we arrived to Liepaja, where I was surprised by the exceptional Art Nouveau, and from that day, I was hooked. My first pictures with a telephone were made with a now 13-year-old phone camera – a testament to my dedication and love for architecture. However, I did not want to stop there, so I searched new ways to explore architecture and immerse myself in it. Little by little I started to do guided tours and at some point, a eureka moment came – maybe I could express myself by creating models of buildings?

With that being said, I’d like to share some of my work, starting off with a Kaunas Central Office

LEGO curtain construction

Image credits: Photo: M. Plepys

In the beginning, I mentioned that I was initially fascinated by Art Nouveau architecture; however, as time went by, my focus shifted to art deco and modernist architecture. In 2017, I visited Kaunas and was surprised by how many modernist buildings there are in various shapes and sizes. In my mind, simple modernist forms were transformed into LEGO pieces. So, in 2018, I got my first LEGO set – LEGO architecture studio. It was a set of only white bricks, where you could create any architectural shape you want! Eventually I recreated some of the iconic Vilnius modernist buildings and was looking to expand my horizons even further. Since I was just a budding LEGO creator, I did not have many LEGO bricks so my only option was to create everything with a dedicated program! When I discovered Studio 2.0, it was a gamechanger for me – the program contained all existing LEGO bricks. With this program, you could build virtually anything.

Image credits: Photo: M. Plepys

Armed with knowledge about Kaunas modernism, I got to work and started with simple buildings. When I built up my portfolio, I contacted the European Capital of Culture Kaunas 2022 and offered to collaborate on something more than myself. So, in 2020, I started a small educational project – “Construct an interwar modernism building”. Its aim was to introduce kids and young adults to Kaunas and Vilnius modernist architecture and teach them how to use Studio 2.0 software. This was the first step towards something bigger; at the time I didn’t expect how everything would take off.

Fragment of LEGO curtain

From 2020 till 2022 was quite a busy time for me, since I had an opportunity to work on several big projects as part of Kaunas 2022. In 2022, I created a 2.5 m x 3.4 m LEGO curtain with traditional Lithuanian folk patterns seen on the Kaunas Central Office floor. This was a big challenge: a total of 70,000 bricks were used and more than 20 people helped me to assemble the piece. Later in 2020, I went to Tel Aviv to interpret several Bauhaus buildings. One of my latest creations was the “Palangos Juzė” sculpture out of LEGO bricks.

LEGO curtain in person

Image credits: Photo: A. Aleksandravičius

After two years of building, I have finally made my most complex LEGO creation – the Iljinai Family house. The building itself has a minimalist feel, with a main emphasis on shape. Its large oval window plays not only a functional role, but also aesthetic – it is an essential part of the façade composition! The Iljinai Family house was designed and finished in 1933 by famous Lithuanian architect Arnas Funkas. This building is one of the most well-known and unique buildings of the Interwar period not only in Kaunas, but across all of Lithuania, and holds the European Heritage Label. In 2018, the building was renovated and brought back to life.

Jacobson House, Tel Aviv

The idea to create this house for submission to LEGO Ideas came in 2020 when I started to collaborate with Kaunas 2022. There were several houses in my mind; however, this one seemed most complex of all. Models consist of 2600 bricks and feature two floors with art deco-inspired interiors. Currently, the model has more than 8000 votes and still needs 2000 to get to the review phase. The closest review phase will be held in May, when LEGO will review all models that collected 10000. Competition is tough; usually only 2-3 models of 30-40 are selected for production. If this model reaches 10K by the end of April, the results would be in September. Let’s make this build a reality!

Interpretation of Kazys Šimonis painting “Wind”

Modernist house in Tauro str. 10, Vilnius

Image credits: Photo: N. Garejev

Sculpture “Palangos Juzė”

Image credits: Photo: R. Mikšiūnas

Image credits: Photo: L. Žemgulis

And lastly, the main project of mine – the Iljinai family house

If you’d like to see this become a real LEGO model, please consider voting for it on the website linked in the description. Thanks!

Rokas’s 3D renderings and LEGO sculptures have elicited significant attention in Lithuania. He was even invited by a local news radio for an interview, which can be accessed here if you have a proficiency in Lithuanian and would like to find out more about him and his work.

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