Toulouse: Mouhammad imagines and builds the future district of Izards in Lego
At the age of 12, Mouhammad Houbi imagined, with other comrades, the first phase in Lego of his district of Izards, in Toulouse. An optimistic and colorful work presented to the public on Friday.
Ludomoze, the play center of the Scand’Art association, specializing in building games in Toulouse, has made nearly 50,000 pieces available to several young people from Izards-Trois Cocus, to compose their neighborhood and project it into the future. .
At the age of 12, Mouhammad Houbi was the leader, with his mother, of this playful and creative initiative: “Lego is a game that has always appealed to me and which is spreading a lot, he explains. I saw this phenomenon everywhere. I live in a neighborhood in difficulty and this project seemed to me to be a good idea for young people. It takes them away from the screens, stimulates the imagination and makes everyone dream”.
Friday, place Micoulaud at Izards-Trois Cocus, a huge Lego model is installed in the center of the esplanade. The curious public then discovers the district which has suddenly become colorful and attractive thanks to the talent of some twenty budding young architects. A first step in this future which should be followed by other episodes of construction: “To design this city, several aspects were defined from the start and put on paper, specifies Célia Robin, educator at the Izards social center who accompanied the young people in this project. After having brainstormed a lot, the majority imperatives emerged: these young people wanted a city that was both practical, to live together, a resourceful, ecological and learning city, in other words turned towards culture”.
Very close to the square, a large room displays several bins filled with colored Legos: “We came to help ourselves here in Lego, continues Mouhammad. Of course, taking care to respect scale and harmony. Everyone had a brick separator at their disposal to do a precise and perfect job”.
Lohran and Julien, contributors to the Scand’Art association, supervised the young people and helped them so that they remained well within the theme of the city of the future. “This project is called to evaluate, to know other phases, assures Lohran. It’s just a first draft. Young people have no shortage of ideas for the future”.
For these young people, the city of tomorrow must be made for living together, practical and ecological
What is this futuristic district made of? “By deciphering it, we can see a cable car that crosses the city, details Mouhammad, a science institute, another beauty, a selective sorting center for waste, a pharmacy, a dojo for meditation, a village hall , a social center, the metro of course and a park with lots of trees. And all this in color to give the inhabitants a good mood and make them want to live in this place”.
A district which, according to his words, is called upon to explain: “We imagined all this by taking up what we would like to have in this district in order to live well there. Over time, society changes and the district must adapt, assures Mouhammad, who lucidly knows that a lot of equipment put in this model is not technically possible because it is not regulatory. But we can dream. This is also what this work says”. We can’t wait to discover the rest of this city of tomorrow.