The Press in Denmark | The Quebecer who creates Lego

(Billund) From Darth Vader’s spaceship to Lego City fire trucks and Technic creations, all the constructions sold by the Lego company are initially designed and imagined by an army of 400 designers who work in the huge corporate headquarters offices in Billund, Denmark.

Ariane Lacoursiere
Press

Among them: Pierre Normandin. A native of Quebec from Stukely, in the Eastern Townships. How did this trained geographer end up getting such a job?

As a child, Pierre Normandin loved Lego. He liked to build the structures according to the instructions, but most of all, to create his own toys. Pierre Normandin remembers a year when the Olympic Games were held. “There had been the torch relay. I had recreated the scene. With the cars and everything, ”says the man, met by Press during a recent visit to Denmark.

In front of the little red brick house in Billund where Ole Kirk Christiansen designed in 1932 the first block of what would become a multinational toy company, Pierre Normandin tells us that, like many, he set aside his Lego blocks as a teenager. .

After completing a bachelor’s degree in geography, he worked for years in this field in various RCMs in Quebec.

It was towards the end of the 1990s, when the Internet took off, that Pierre Normandin came across researching Lego sites. He comes into contact with enthusiasts of the small block from all over the province and around the world. “I fell back into it…” he said.

Pierre Normandin brings out the old Lego box he had kept for all these years. And begins to create again.

With his friend Valérie Derouin, he founded the QuéLUG group, which brings together Lego enthusiasts. He eventually gave up his job in geography and worked for two years at Mega Blocks in Montreal.

“Do something to me”

In 2004, Pierre Normandin went to a Lego congress in Washington. There he accidentally meets a man who works at the company’s head office in Denmark. “He told me about working for Lego,” he says. A few months later, the Quebecer took advantage of a visit to friends in the Netherlands to make a detour to Billund.

With its 6,700 inhabitants, Billund is a municipality similar in size to that of Plessisville, Mont-Joli or Sainte-Anne-des-Monts. This is where the world’s first Legoland amusement park was built in 1968. This is also where a large block making factory is located which operates 24/7. And several huge buildings accommodating the 3000 employees of the multinational. In recent years, a huge multi-storey car park, the largest in Denmark, has been built in Billund. The city center has been revamped. And the Lego House, a museum dedicated to small bricks, was opened.

While in Billund, therefore, Pierre Normandin shows his portfolio to about fifty people at the head office. “I talked about the community of adult Lego fans which was very strong and represented a big market,” he says.

But the Lego company is going through a restructuring phase at this time and does not make a job offer to Pierre Normandin. The latter returned empty-handed to Quebec and began to work in geography for different RCMs.

However, his dream of one day joining the Danish company did not end.

In 2007, Mr. Normandin noticed on the group’s website that Lego was recruiting. He sends his CV again. Since he has no training in design, his application is not accepted.

The same year, he returned to Europe to attend a Lego exhibition. There he meets another worker from the company and submits his portfolio to him. The man Pierre Normandin meets is the head of the Lego City range. The latter notices the talent of the Quebecer and decides to test it. “He gave me a bin of loose bricks and told me to create something,” says Mr. Normandin, who will build a truck of his design.

The construction works: he is asked to travel quickly to Billund to meet the leaders for a formal interview. The interview is going well. And the Quebecer will begin his career as a designer at Lego, in the Lego City range, in 2008.

A dream job

What are the days of Pierre Normandin like? “In my office, I have a large table with blocks and my current project. I leave it on the table in the evening and take it back the next day. Behind me, I have drawers with all the possible blocks, ”he sums up.

Professional secrecy requires, whoever wants to go into the Lego offices. The buildings are closely watched. After having worked for more than 10 years at the Lego City range, Pierre Normandin is now part of the group working on the range intended for adults. A growing sector at Lego.

To create his projects, Pierre Normandin does not start from nothing. “We have a budget to respect. And a theme, ”he says. Once the structure is designed, another team works to deconstruct everything in stages and design the plans and instructions.

To young Quebecers who hope to one day follow in his footsteps, Pierre Normandin recommends “always to continue to build, to create their own stories and models and to pursue their dreams”. Studying design is also a plus. When we design Lego all year round, do we lose the flame a little? Pierre Normandin admits that he designs a little less Lego in his spare time. “But I still buy other people’s designs and make them,” says the enthusiast, who has clearly found his way.