Lego Cathedral up for vote as America’s next top toy model

 It took construction workers roughly eight years to build the Cathedral of Learning. How long would it take you to build yours? 

Josh Hall, blogger, IT manager and Lego enthusiast, wants the “Cathy” to have its own ready-made Lego set, and he’s seeking votes to make it a reality.

Hall, 31, started his campaign for Lego to package a Cathedral Lego set and sell it to the mass market in May 2014 on a Lego Ideas website, on which fans can vote for the models they want to see as sets. As of Sept. 30, Hall had 1,227 votes of the 10,000 he needs for Lego to consider producing it. Hall has 210 days left of his one-year timespan to secure the votes.

“I went to Pitt for two years,” Hall said. “I loved the nationality rooms and the architecture. I love how anyone can just go in and appreciate it. You don’t need permission or a pass.”

Hall won a local Lego-building contest in the spring of 2012 in Squirrel Hill with his model of the Cathedral and said people asked him almost immediately afterward if they could buy one or if he could give them directions to build their own. Around that time, he became familiar with Lego Ideas online proposals.

The company sponsors the Lego Ideas website, which allows contestants to submit their own ideas about possible Lego sets. If an idea gets 10,000 votes, it goes into the next stage called Lego Review, where the Lego Review Board decides whether the idea is good for the market. Some factors include playability, safety and level of difficulty, according to Lego’s website. If approved, the idea becomes a reality — Lego designers build it and ship it to stores.

One of the most recent Lego Ideas creators to have her project produced was Ellen Kooijman — creator of the  Female Minifigure set, which will be called Research Institute Lego Ideas Set according to the Lego website. Kooijman’s set became available for purchase online and in stores August 2014. Some of the most supported idea proposals on the Lego Ideas site inlcude a Natural History Museum set and a pirate ship for the 30th anniversary of the movie “The Goonies.”

Lego’s media department did not return an email or multiple calls this week regarding Hall’s Lego idea or how the process to get ideas accepted works.

Daniel Walker, Pitt grad student and part-time instructor of computer sciences at Pitt, said he thinks the initiative would be beneficial in two main ways.

“Firstly, it inherently promotes the Cathedral as an architectural masterpiece and generates recognition for the structure outside the Pitt community,” Walker said. “Secondly, the initiative inherently promotes the Lego modeling hobby.” 

Both Walker and Hall are members of the Steel City Lego User Group, a social group formed to connect adult fans of Legos in Western Pennsylvania and allow them to build, admire and discuss building with Legos. 

“I personally find the hobby very fulfilling, and the community, at least from my experiences in Pittsburgh, is both supportive and engaged. These benefits are realized whether Lego ultimately accepts the model or does not,” Walker said. 

According to Hall, success has come in waves.

“When Pitt and Mayor Peduto shared my project on social media, there was a huge upsurge in votes. Now I need to focus on finding new ways to gain attention. I’ve been trying to get in contact with big groups connected to Pitt and go from there,” Hall said. 

Ashley Kamp, sophomore and pre-pharmacy major, remembers playing with Legos as a child and hopes the initiative will be successful. 

“I don’t know whether the Cathedral is popular enough for Lego to build a set, but I think it would be great for Pitt if a company as big as Lego endorses the Cathedral. I’d be proud to see our Cathy being sold on Target’s shelves,” Kamp said.