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BuildingBuilding theAfro-AmericanCultural CenterArticle by Mariann AsanumaPhotography by Geoff Gray60Many LEGO hobbyists young and old make buildings ofone sort or another. Depending on their LEGO supply orthe building that they choose, their model can range fromseveral inches in height to several feet. They can make themodels whatever way they want. Whether real or imaginary,big or small, micro or minifig scale, it’s all up to them. Whenmaking commissioned models as a LEGO artist, however,it’s a little different.In January of 2009 I was asked by the Main Event and PrideCommunications in North Carolina to build a replica of theAfro-American Cultural Center (AACC) during the LowesPride Awards in Charlotte, North Carolina.Although I would be ‘building’ the model at the event, theactual process of building and designing took place in myLEGO studio at home. Despite the fact that this was a fairlysimple project I ran into a few design challenges. The firstobstacle was the lack of reference materials I had. Nownormally when designing a building I prefer to actuallygo to the location and take my own pictures. That way Ican pay attention to all the little details that the averageperson would most likely not look at when they see thebuilding. If it is a relatively famous building like the EmpireState Building or Seattle’s Space Needle, for example, youcan often find pretty good images on the internet. If at all