The Picture of Suburban Bliss

Aaron Newman July 20, 2021

I designed this replica of a private residence on commission. Although the client only paid me for digital deliverables—i.e., design services and instructions, but no physical bricks—I couldn’t resist splurging a little on parts to recreate my finished product in real life, with a few modifications of my own to “spruce up” the build. Yes, that was a pun, because yes, the addition of a towering redwood tree in the backyard was one of my biggest add-ons!

This 360-degree home recreation also features fully realized, furnished interior spaces, making it perhaps the most in-depth structural recreation I have ever completed at this size. Keeping balance between external and internal was a fun puzzle to solve, and while I was battling for space much of the time, I’m pleased with and proud of the final result.

Read on to learn more about the design choices behind this build, and to check out all the rooms of the house!

"Here's the Story... of a Lovely Lady..."

Aaron Newman May 20, 2020

I designed this famous house from The Brady Bunch (1969-74) on commission. Before beginning work, I hadn’t even listened to the show’s catchy theme! However, I very quickly came to realize that merely speaking the first few lyrics of that song will send many people into paroxysms of nostalgia. The Brady Bunch is a landmark show beloved by millions, and the Bradys’ iconic house now a tourist attraction that is the second-most photographed house in the United States. It was a real treat for me to replicate and recreate a truly meaningful piece of American pop culture.

I love tackling the challenges unique to replicating architecture in brick form, and this home posed more than just those delicious run-of-the-mill puzzles. You see, I was set to model a house that technically never had, and never will, exist. My model of the Bradys’ house—the combination of an amalgam of sources—required a good deal of compromise, research, and imagination to reach its finished form. Read on to learn more about the design choices behind this project!

North Shore, Chattanooga

Aaron Newman April 22, 2020

I built this replica of a private residence on commission. This house, nicknamed “North Shore Chattanooga” by its owner, is a gorgeous piece of architecture that was a blast to replicate in bricks!

I am extremely proud of this little model, which I think packs in a great deal of accuracy and detail despite its small size. Learn more about the design choices I made on my replica of North Shore Chattanooga by reading on.

Behind-The-Build: Arch & Truss Bridge

Aaron Newman March 13, 2020

For Episode 6 of LEGO Masters, “Need for Speed/Super Bridge” (3/12/2020), Christian and I created the “Arch & Truss” bridge, a double-support structure built to span a 6’ (183cm) gap and hold as much weight as possible.

This 7-hour challenge put teams’ engineering expertise to the test. With so little time to work and a blatantly quantitative assessment at the challenge’s end, there was very little room for error in this challenge. Every choice we made could be the one that catapulted us to victory… or else sent us to the bottom. The stakes were high even without the Golden Brick being up for grabs once more!

Read on for my special dissection of this model’s process, design choices, and more.

Sacrilege against Quetzalcoatl!

Aaron Newman July 7, 2018

I designed this pair of companion models for the 2018 Summer Joust. The competition had a "Mesoamerican Setting" sub-category, which excited me, but the judges decided that fantasy elements would not be allowed in those builds. This wasn't a limitation I personally understood or agreed with, but I would have to adhere to it in order to participate. It's funny, though, how sometimes constraints can drive ideas...

In fact, this ban on fantasy in the Mesoamerican Setting category led me to choose a beast of Mesoamerican myth for my entry into the Creatures category. I endeavored to build Quetzalcoatl, a Feathered Serpent god from the Aztec pantheon. I paired Quetzalcoatl with my "Temple of the Feathered Serpent" to make the image you see above. Even though I had to enter the two builds separately in the contest, didn't mean I couldn't photograph them together for my own purposes!

Read on to learn more about the processes and designs of these two models.

Le Château de Chenonceau

Aaron Newman June 4, 2018

After eight months' work—often interrupted by other projects, like the ABS Builder Challenge and some commission builds—I'm extremely proud to finally present my biggest creation to date: this replica of the Château de Chenonceau, a famous castle in the Loire Valley of France.

I visited Chenonceau in September of 2017, and as soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to build it in LEGO! The château's elegant sixteenth-century architecture, the way the structure spans the Cher River, and its storied past (Chenonceau is also known as the "Château des Dames," having been inhabited by notable noblewomen across its life, including Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de' Medici) captured my imagination. Almost as soon as I got back from France, I began work on what I originally expected to be a much smaller build... In the end, my Château de Chenonceau measures more than 12" (31cm) tall, 17" (44cm) deep, and 40" (102cm) wide!

Read on to learn more about the build process, design, and photography of this immense build!