Over 3,000 people have attended the topping-out ceremony for the Bjarke Ingels-designed Lego House, a visitor attraction made to resemble a giant stack of Lego bricks.

Local citizens and Lego employees in the Danish town of Billund were invited to tour the construction site now the keystone brick has been set in place.

According to the Lego Group, the completed experience centre will open to the public in the second half of 2017. It will be 12,000sq m (129,000sq ft) and stand 23m (75ft) tall.

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) have designed the building as a three-dimensional village of interlocking buildings and spaces. The structure will consist of 21 huge Lego bricks, built on top of one another. These will enclose a large indoor space above which a Keystone Gallery – shaped to resemble a classic 2X4 LEGO brick – is situated.

Paying visitors will be able to access four specially-designed play zones inside the house. Non-paying members of the public will be able to enter a 2,000sq m (21,000sq ft) covered square containing a café, a restaurant and a Lego store, while stairs and terraces will allow them to walk over and across the house.

After unveiling their design back in early 2014, BIG said in a statement: “We propose to approach the spaces and activities for the Lego House through the lens of a core element of Lego’s philosophy – inventing the future of play through systematic creativity.

“The Lego House will be both expressive and rational. Innovative and systematic - like a Guggenheim of white cubes, combining the functionality of the model space with the iconic character of a sculptural building.”

Speaking after the topping-out ceremony, Lego Group owner Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen said: “The Lego House is a dream that will soon come true for my family and me. We are creating a unique place where families and Lego fans of all ages can come and experience the Lego Group’s history and values, while exploring all that Lego play has to offer.”

Work expected to begin on Danish Lego House attraction this year