space-inspired mini apple workstation pays homage to classic LEGO computers

LEGO-styled mini Apple workstation by Watt IV

Design studio Watt IV recreates the 1979 LEGO brick with a printed screen and keyboard into a 3D printed workstation with a hidden Apple Mac Mini M4 inside. Partly designed from nostalgia, the device, named M2x2, comes with studs on top reimagined as functional nodes: one hides a media control knob, while the other works as a wireless charger for an Apple Watch or AirPods. The body is printed in bone white PLA+, the same color family as the original LEGO Space computer brick and the original Apple Macintosh 128K, which launched in 1984. The form follows the sloped brick geometry: a rectangular base, a face angled at 45 degrees, and two studs on top. 

At the back of the mini Apple workstation by Watt IV, two panels fold out on filament hinges, the wings of the device. They carry two hooks around which the power cable wraps, and behind the body, a recessed pocket cut into the rear panel functions as a handle, which is a direct reference to the carry handle on the back of the original Macintosh 128K. The 7-inch touchscreen sits in the front faceplate, and there’s a USB-C hub, with its PCB removed from its original housing, slid into the base of the case and exposes Ethernet and USB ports at the front.

horizontal bars across the screen project live sensor data

In 1979, LEGO released a sloped brick with a printed screen and keyboard on its face called 3039p23. It appeared in the Classic Space sets, which include the Alpha-1 Rocket Base and the Galaxy Explorer, as a cockpit computer, but it didn’t work since it was a piece of plastic with a sticker. Fast-forward to today, design studio Watt IV takes this design into their hands and releases the M2x2, a 10:1 scale version of that 1979 brick, built from 3D-printed PLA plastic, powered by an Apple Mac Mini M4, and fitted with a seven-inch IPS touchscreen.

The design team uses the M2x2 as their primary computer, connected to an LG monitor. The seven-inch screen runs a Home Assistant dashboard, built to match the layout of the original LEGO brick’s printed interface, and the horizontal bars across the screen project the live sensor data, including the smart home controls, where the width of each bar changes in proportion to the current reading. So far, the Watt IV team has uploaded how they made the mini Apple workstation, allowing users to make one for themselves within their homes.

project info:

name: M2x2

studio: Watt IV