Brick by brick

Armed with architect Louis Kahn’s original blueprints and the digital building application Studio, Nathan Frankel ’25 designed an 86,000-piece model of the Class of 1945 Library on his computer — then saw it through to construction.

More than a year later, the ambitious Lego Library was unveiled this fall at Family Weekend. It featured the building’s signature grand entry stairway, giant ovals in Rockefeller Hall, working lights and, of course, books and minifigure students with backpacks and water bottles. “I chose the library because it serves as a community place for Exeter where people can learn as well as socialize with one another,” says Frankel, co-head of the Academy Band of Lego Builders.

More than 60 faculty, staff and students helped piece the Lego library together. “During the construction phase, I made stations with pictures and instructions for building simple replicable parts of the library model, such as bookshelves or chairs,” Frankel says. “I made these stations so that anyone stopping by could easily contribute by following the diagrams and building Lego furniture.”

For Frankel, the project was a natural next step. “I have been building with Legos since I was 3,” he says. “Over the years, I have spent many hours playing with Legos with my twin brother. I began designing Lego creations during my prep year, when I created a Lego Spider-Man mosaic for my dorm room wall with my dormmates.”

The project was supported by the Friends of the Academy Library, an alumni network that provides funding for various projects in the library.

This article was first published in the winter 2025 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.