LEGO BYU Maeser Building

Design Objective: Design a LEGO abstraction of the BYU Maeser Building that represents its key architectural elements while adhering to LEGO system constraints.

Digital render of the BYU Maeser Building
Digital render of the BYU Maeser Building, obtained from 3dbyu.byu.edu/model-directory.

Concept Sketches

I began this project by walking around the Maeser Building, noting key features and general proportions (e.g., the building’s rear steps are wider then those at the front), see left of figure below. Then I devised a general assembly strategy, breaking the build up into vertical sections and repeated subassemblies, see right of figure below.

Concept sketches of overall structure with stud dimensions (left) and assembly strategy (right)
Concept sketches of overall structure with stud dimensions (left) and assembly strategy (right).

Modeling in SOLIDWORKS

I modeled all basic LEGO plates and bricks using SOLIDWORKS design tables, enabling quick and easy creation of subsequent configurations and reducing the number of part files needed. Then, I assembled and rendered the build in SOLIDWORKS, see figure below.

Sequential assembly of LEGO structure in SOLIDWORKS
Sequential assembly of LEGO structure in SOLIDWORKS. Each numbered step corresponds to those outlined in the assembly strategy from the previous section.

Assembly Instructions

Final assembly instructions with a bill of materials were created as a SOLIDWORKS Drawing and can be accessed here: Assembly Instructions