CoSci prof, students aiming to build world’s tallest Lego tower

In his quest to build the world’s tallest freestanding Lego structure, John Nichols, Texas A&M associate professor of construction science, is seeking support.

“We’re going to build a temporary, 150-foot tall structure with 70,000 Lego bricks,” said Nichols. “There are a bunch of students who are interested in building the tower but we’re looking for funding.”

Nichols and students are planning fundraising activities to raise $7,000 for Lego bricks and $5,000 to build a frame around the tower as a safety precaution.

Senior construction science major David Gardner designed the tower, which Nichols foresees building in a hotel with an atrium large enough to accommodate its height. Gardner has already built a 20-foot tall version of his design at the [Automated Fabrication and Design Lab] (http://fablab.arch.tamu.edu/) at Texas A&M’s Riverside Campus.

Guinness World Records certified a [114-foot tower] (http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/27/travel/hungary-lego-tower/) built in June 2014 in Budapest, Hungary as the current record holder, besting a [112-foot tower] (http://www.designboom.com/architecture/worlds-tallest-lego-tower-built-by-delaware-students/) built in 2013 by high school students in Delaware.

For more information about the project, contact Nichols at jm-nichols@tamu.edu or 979.845.6541.