Smith Sinnett Architecture is proud to share that we took home First Place in this year’s AIA Triangle LEGO Design Competition! The event brought together local architecture firms and students to reimagine their designs in miniature using LEGO bricks — and our team was thrilled to participate.
Our Winning Entry: NC State Highway Patrol Auditorium and Museum
Our submission was inspired by an in-progress project for the North Carolina State Highway Patrol and Department of Public Safety, located on South Garner Road in Raleigh. The facility will feature a 500–750 seat auditorium and a museum housing important historical artifacts — including 22 vintage vehicles — to preserve the legacy of the department and inspire future generations of law enforcement.
Recreating the concept in LEGO form was a fun (and surprisingly complex) design challenge. It pushed our team to think differently about form, scale, and storytelling — and to express a contemporary civic building using only standard bricks.
“This submission exemplifies the spirit of the competition: a thoughtfully executed LEGO model of an active architectural project by a local firm. The jury was especially impressed by the clarity of the design concept and the sophisticated level of development achieved using standard LEGO bricks,” said AIA Triangle in their award announcement.
On Display at BrickUniverse Raleigh
All winning designs were showcased this past weekend at LEGO BrickUniverse, a fan convention held at the Raleigh Convention Center. The event was packed with energy and creativity — and we loved seeing visitors of all ages stop by to explore our build and the other inventive designs on display.
From futuristic schools to whimsical public spaces, every entry was a reminder of how architecture can capture the imagination — even in miniature form.
Celebrating Our Peers in Design
We’d also like to extend a round of applause to our fellow competitors:
🥈 2nd Place – Ratio
🥉 3rd Place – Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates
🎖️ Honorable Mention – Chris Reno, Wake Tech AIAS
The talent and creativity from across the Triangle design community was inspiring — and we’re grateful to AIA Triangle for organizing a fun and meaningful event that brings people together through design.
Bringing Vision to Life
Whether we’re designing civic spaces, educational facilities, or playful builds made of LEGO, we’re always looking for ways to bring visionary ideas into tangible form — and to make a positive impact in our communities.
We’ll be sharing more about the NC SHP Auditorium and Museum project as it progresses, so stay tuned!
📸 Scroll through the images for a few behind-the-scenes photos of our team in action and highlights from the BrickUniverse event.
