FORREC Celebrates Opening of LEGOLAND® Shanghai Resort
—World’s Largest LEGOLAND and China’s First
Image courtesy of FORREC
TORONTO – Toronto-based experience design company FORREC is proud to announce its integral role in the newly opened LEGOLAND® Shanghai Resort project, the newest and largest LEGOLAND® destination globally—and the very first in China. Spanning nearly 70 acres in Shanghai’s Jinshan District, this ambitious project includes a world-class LEGOLAND® theme park, a 250-room LEGO® themed hotel, and a vibrant retail, dining, and entertainment district (RDE).
The opening of LEGOLAND® Shanghai on July 5th contributes to China’s rapidly growing location-based entertainment (LBE) market, which is projected to reach over USD $2.34 billion by 2030. With high-speed rail access and a local population of over 80 million within a two-hour drive, the resort is poised to become a premier destination for families across the region. (source)
FORREC has been a long-time design partner to Merlin Entertainments—investor and operator of LEGOLAND® Resorts—and worked in close collaboration with Merlin Magic Making (MMM, Merlin’s internal creative and project delivery team), the LEGOLAND® Shanghai Resort team, Arcplus, and Tongji Architectural Design Group (TJAD), to realize this project from concept to completion. FORREC has collaborated on LEGO brand projects for over 25 years, including LEGOLAND® Korea, LEGOLAND® Japan, and LEGOLAND® Dubai.
An Experience Built Brick by Brick
FORREC worked with MMM on the concept master plan, schematic design and design development for the theme park and the resort hotel. The resort features eight themed lands with over 75 rides, shows, and attractions. In keeping with LEGO® brand guidelines, every structure and scenic model respects LEGO brick proportions and uses only official LEGO shapes and colors.
From Bold Concepts to Critical Details
The design team utilized LEGO products as a tool of the design process, building first with both real and digital LEGO bricks, and then transitioning the design to BIM based software. To streamline layout accuracy FORREC has pioneered a design workflow that uses a LEGO grid system and a tailored algorithm to place bricks.
Steve Thorington, Creative Director at FORREC, adds, “Our process was iterative and playful—grounded in the LEGO brand, our team balanced creative expression with technical precision to craft a world that is imaginative, immersive, and a functional real-world experience.”
Among the park’s many highlights are a towering 26 m tall Minifigure visible from the entire resort, a water ride attraction, and Miniland. FORREC’s scope included guest experiences, designing ride and attraction scenes, as well as important functional elements such as guest circulation, queue lines, accessibility strategies, shade solutions and back-of-house facilities.
A Hotel That Celebrates the Core Principles of LEGO Play
The six-storey LEGOLAND® Hotel was imagined as if a child constructed it from LEGO bricks; bold, colorful, and bursting with character. Located above the theme park’s entrance gate, the hotel offers spectacular park views and easy access to the action below. The 250 rooms include five immersive LEGO themes: LEGO® City, LEGO® Friends, LEGO® Castle, LEGO® Ninjago, and the new LEGO® Monkie Kid.
Aegean Bingo: Retail, Dining, and Entertainment Redefined
Adjacent to the theme park and hotel, the Aegean Bingo district offers an RDE experience unlike any other. FORREC developed the master plan and design for this story-driven space, which connects visitors to the local community and broadens the resort’s appeal. Drawing inspiration from Shanghai’s diverse neighborhoods, the RDE concept by FORREC was organized into three zones—The Gateway, The Terraces, and The Village—each offering unique retail, dining, and entertainment experiences.
Designed for Everyone
Accessibility and sustainability were central to FORREC, MMM, and The LEGO Group’s vision. Shaded rest and seating areas, manageable walking distances, and inclusive design features were implemented to accommodate families, seniors, and guests with disabilities. LEGOLAND® Shanghai also features quiet rooms for guests with sensory sensitivities. On the sustainability front, FORREC introduced rooftop solar panels on the hotel and proposed a natural filtration system blending wetlands and ozone treatment. This innovative approach maintains water quality in the central lagoon while dramatically reducing chlorine usage.
A truly global effort, FORREC is grateful for the hard work of our team of subconsultants that were essential to the process of bringing LEGOLAND® Shanghai to life, including: EXP, CD+M Lighting, Edwards Technology, Cloward H2O, Thorburn Associates, and Peppercorn Food Solutions.
“Designing LEGOLAND® Shanghai was an extraordinary opportunity to flex our collective muscle in delivering excellence in immersive storytelling, brand integrity, and guest experience,” says Cale Heit, CEO of FORREC. “We’re incredibly proud of this project, and of our longstanding relationships with both Merlin Entertainment and The LEGO Group.”
LEGO, the LEGO logo and LEGOLAND are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2025 The LEGO Group. LEGOLAND is a part of Merlin Entertainments Ltd.
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