We love LEGO right here at Hackaday, however do you know that LEGO spun off a parallel product line made for architectural fashions known as Modulex?

[Peter Dibble] takes us on a deep dive by the historical past of Modulex, beginning with Godtfred Kirk Christiansen needing a greater option to mannequin precise buildings after making an attempt to design a home in LEGO. The LEGO brick’s 5:5:6 ratio proved difficult for modeling full-sized initiatives, so Modulex was conceived round a 1:1:1 ratio 5 mm dice. This transformation means Modulex isn’t appropriate with LEGO System bricks.

As architectural kinds morphed by the mid-Twentieth Century, designs primarily based round blocky shapes grew to become passe, and Modulex pivoted to concentrating on manufacturing facility and metropolis planning clients. Merchandise later branched out to incorporate wall charts and Plancopy photocopy-able planners together with reconfigurable signage. Modulex (now ASI) nonetheless goes on as one of many greatest signage firms on the earth, however discontinued the bricks in 2004. An try was made to revive Modulex bricks in 2015, however LEGO Group purchased the corporate that had the rights to the bricks and has no intention of manufacturing Modulex.

For extra LEGO hacks, checkout this machine studying LEGO sorter or these large LEGO-like items.