Chinatown: Double Happiness Archway

From London to Liverpool, New York to San Francisco, Chinatowns form important and iconic parts of the world’s most famous cities. With beautiful architecture and delicious food, these busy and vibrant locations are loved by locals and tourists alike. Every year, Chinatown’s archways welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors to its lantern laden streets – This model welcomes a little bit of Chinatown to your home!  

This model recreates one of Chinatown’s iconic archways in 2885 bricks, allowing you to display it in your very own home. Utilising reds, golds, blues, and greens, this archway endeavours to capture the vibrant and colourful nature of Chinatown’s unique architectural style. Dozens of tiles help build this aesthetic, whereas masonry bricks add intricate detail to the pillars. The pillars are even guarded by iconic stone lions (even if they do look a bit like cats)! Hundreds of studs form the ornate rooftops also add to the authentic recreation of the beloved Chinatown archways. Beneath the archway, alternating tiles create a patterned mosaic on the pavement, whereas the roadway is adorned with a ‘Double Happiness’ symbol (双喜 in Chinese). Aimed at bringing joy and happiness to visitors, it also aims to bestow ‘Double Happiness’ upon all LEGO fans!

As a child, my grandparents would take me out to London Chinatown to eat dim sum. As such, I have fond memories of Chinatown and the archway that sat outside their favourite restaurant. I would love to see something inspired by this special place recreated in LEGO. Now more than ever, we must promote cultural inclusion and celebrate the contributions the Chinese diaspora have made to British culture. Chinatown is more than a physical place – it is a cultural space that enriches our society and should be celebrated accordingly.

The baseplate measures 62 x 19 studs

The model measures approximately 49 x 15 x 35 cm

The first 7 photos show a rendered version of the official Product Idea. The last 4 photos show a working model built in physical bricks (but with an added reinforced base not part of the official submission).