Last November, Kevin and I sat down for our annual holiday card charette, a tradition we’ve kept since founding the firm. It’s something we always look forward to: an opportunity to create something memorable and share it with our friends, clients, and community. This year, one idea jumped out and stuck: *Lego*.
The moment we said it out loud, it just felt right.
For both of us, Lego holds something personal. As a kid, it was my favorite toy. I would spend hours sprawled on the floor, building rocket ships, cities, and other wild inventions. It taught me creativity, structure, patience, and maybe most importantly, the joy of making something with my hands. That joy never left me. In many ways, those early days with Lego laid the foundation for my lifelong love of architecture.
Now, I get to share that same joy with my son. We love to build together, lose track of time, and explore the same lessons I once learned.
When Kevin and I revisited the idea with fresh eyes, we realized it could be more than just a holiday card. It could be a gift—a miniature, tangible reflection of our work and values. We chose one of our recent projects: a modest backyard casita with clean lines and thoughtful details. The simple form made it an ideal subject, but translating it into Lego turned out to be more challenging than we expected.
We built the model over a few days, adding playful seasonal touches—a Christmas tree, holiday lights, and snow. Then came the real challenge: photographing it. Capturing miniature architecture is not an easy feat. We wrestled with lighting, scale, and angles until we found a composition that felt right. A little building that told a big story.
From there, the idea snowballed. I’d heard of people designing their own Lego kits and decided to dive in. I downloaded Bricklink Studio, Lego’s digital design platform, and, after some trial and error, recreated our model piece by piece. The software even let us generate an instruction manual and source bricks from various vendors. We packaged the pieces in a custom box, complete with the instruction booklet, and delivered it to our client, who was completely blown away.
In the end, what started as a holiday card became something much more meaningful. It was a creative challenge, a shared moment of joy, and a chance to reflect on why we do what we do. And just like we often discover in our architecture, it’s the small, thoughtful gestures that tend to leave the biggest impression.
Click here to access a .pdf of the instruction booklet.
Explore
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Rockport, Texas
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Set along the Gulf Coast shoreline, this beach house embraces coastal living with expansive decks, open interiors, and uninterrupted ocean views. Light-filled rooms flow seamlessly to generous outdoor spaces, inviting breezes and sunlight into daily life. A soft, natural palette and durable coastal materials create a relaxed yet refined retreat, perfect for both quiet mornings and lively gatherings by the water.
Casey Pavek
Director of Social Enterprise
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In this episode, our resident architects Joe Rivers and Kevin Barden sit down with Casey Pavek, a bicycle mechanic from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Casey Pavek is a general manager and lead bicycle mechanic at Venture North, a coffee and bike shop located in North Minneapolis. Joe and Kevin sat down with Casey to discuss adapting a bike shop to fitting a community's needs and the positive impact that a bike shop brings.
Staff Travel: Mexico City
Esmer Leija
Writing
Over the past few years, Esmer has made multiple trips to Mexico City. She had the opportunity to visit The Pyramids of Teotihuacan, La Casa Azul de Frida Kahlo and the first Latin-American Architecture Exhibition of Zaha Hadid’s work. The following is a reflective essay of her travels.