Build Your Own Usonian Masterpiece at AD | EX Brickitecture Family Day Jan. 27

One of the best events in downtown Dallas last year didn’t involve a sports franchise or a holiday parade. It was just kids building with their toys at the Architecture and Design Exchange’s Brickitecture Family Build Day. 

Future architects and home builders constructed the Parthenon out of LEGOs at last year’s Family Day. American Institute of Architects’ Blane Ladymon gave a history of Greek architecture and helped youth and their parents design their own masterpieces. 

The Brickitecture exhibit is back at AD | EX, and Family Build Day is set for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Jan. 27. This year, children will get to reconstruct Frank Lloyd Wright’s legendary “Fallingwater.” 

Fallingwater was designed in 1935 by Wright for the Kaufmann family, owners of Pittsburgh’s largest department store. The iconic southwestern Pennsylvania home is one of Wright’s most widely acclaimed works, according to the Fallingwater website.

Local craftsmen quarried native sandstone and other materials from the property and completed the construction of the main house, guest house, and service wing in 1939.

“The iconic residence, perched over a waterfall, showcases Wright’s philosophy of organic architecture — a seamless blend of art and nature,” said Katie Hitt, managing director of AD | EX. 

The Building Toys & Toy Buildings: Brickitecture exhibit, curated by Ladymon from his personal collection, is one of the most popular events at the AD | EX studios, and it’s also an opportunity to educate the public on the work done inside the offices at 325 North St. Paul St. in downtown Dallas. 

AD | EX is the public outreach arm of the AIA, offering summer camps and youth scholarships. AIA is perhaps best known for its annual home tour. 

Families can register for Brickitecture Family Build Day here. Building kits are $30.