Lego's Play is Your Superpower Projection Mapping
A Monumental Projection of Play at Battersea Power Station
As part of the LEGO Group’s global “Play Is Your Superpower” campaign, a single night in London became a beacon of imagination. In collaboration with our sister company Graymatter Video, and alongside Hello Charlie, IMPACT/Rapport WW, and production director Daniel Postlethwaite, we helped reimagine London's iconic Battersea Power Station as a fully immersive, larger-than-life LEGO factory. The result? A vibrant display of motion, colour, and storytelling that stopped Londoners in their tracks.
The event, titled “The Factory of Creativity”, wasn’t just about lighting up a building. It was about engineering a flawless visual experience across one of London’s most complex surfaces, using cutting-edge AV technology and rigorous planning. The client’s expectation was clear: deliver a show-stopping brand moment that combined LEGO’s playful identity with world-class execution.
The Challenge
Battersea Power Station is a notoriously difficult projection site. The scale alone is immense, with a dark, textured brick façade that absorbs light rather than reflects it. Achieving uniform coverage across such a vast surface required serious brightness, at least 150 LUX from edge to edge.
Adding to the complexity, traditional projector positions were no longer viable. The Coal Jetty, a commonly used location, was ruled out due to heavy seasonal tree coverage. This meant the entire spatial layout had to be reimagined, requiring bespoke engineering solutions to overcome new environmental constraints. Previous activations on the site had struggled to impress, often let down by underpowered kit or inaccurate alignment. For this project, the creative demanded more than just a bright picture, it needed architectural accuracy, pixel-perfect geometry, and zero room for error.
The Solution
To deliver a fully immersive experience, we designed a high-performance projection system from the ground up. We deployed twelve Panasonic PT-RQ35 and ten PT-RQ25 3-Chip DLP 4K projectors to achieve the necessary brightness and resolution. These were powered by two disguise GX 3 media servers, configured in a Director and Understudy format, feeding into a 24 x 24 Lightware MX2 matrix that handled routing across multiple stacks.
With the Coal Jetty out of action, the team engineered two custom-built projection towers within the tree line, positioned closer to the building to preserve sight lines and intensity. Every projection angle, throw distance, and obstruction was modelled in disguise’s 3D environment. This digital mapping allowed the team to simulate the show in advance and export precise CAD drawings for installation and build teams. This solution was a masterclass in projection design, balancing technical precision with creative intent, all while working under tight timelines and environmental limitations.
The Result
On the night of the activation, Battersea Power Station was transformed into a vibrant LEGO world. Robotic arms assembled Minifigures in rhythmic motion, culminating in a dramatic visual finale as figures were launched skyward from the iconic chimneys. It was joyful, playful, and utterly captivating.
The audience on-site watched in awe, while thousands more engaged with the spectacle online. For LEGO, the activation achieved its goal: delivering a moment of brand magic through storytelling and innovation. For iMAG and Graymatter, it marked a proud milestone. This project showcased our ability to solve complex challenges with confidence, blend creative vision with precise execution, and deliver experiences that leave a lasting impression.
Equipment used:
- Panasonic PT-RQ35 Projectors
- Panasonic PT-RQ25 Projectors
- disguise GX 3 Media Servers
- 24 x 23 Lightware MX2 Matrix
