See which University of Oregon iconic buildings were replicated in a Lego model

The way Stephen Mack sees it, the Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene is smaller than a Nike shoebox and the entire University of Oregon campus can fit in his Ford Fiesta hatchback. Mack's trick: Shrinking the 295-acre campus to Lego size.

Although not true to scale, more than 10,000 Lego pieces, representing academic buildings and sports stadiums, fit on a base that is about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide. The captivating model of green, yellow and brown plastic bricks on display at the university's Ford Alumni Center lobby is a snapshot in time, said Mack, a 2023 graduate of the environmental studies program in the College of Arts and Sciences .

"I wanted to preserve the way things were," said Mack, who was putting together his model as real construction was happening on campus. His version includes his former dorm in the 1950s Walton Hall complex that was replaced by a modern residence tower. He said he's happy he memorialized halls that no longer exist, but he wishes the oval bleacher seating, curved tracks and cylindrical tower of renovated Hayward Field lent itself easier to straight-edged Lego blocks.

He reunited with Legos, his favorite childhood toy, in 2020 while hunkering at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. He started by making a full-size chess board out of Legos, which are each about a third of an inch long. He then made the chess pieces, and his ambitions grew. When he returned to campus , he found it relaxing to work on the university model on his bed. He propped the platform against the wall when he needed to sleep.

The project's public premiere was at Portland's Bricks Cascade gathering in May 2023. Mack hauled the mini campus wrapped in a comforter in the back of his hatchback, losing some parts, like a window in the student recreation center and the roof of softball's Jane Sanders Stadium . More pieces were chipped off, he said, in the elevator at the Oregon Convention Center.

Before the UO Alumni Association took possession of the model for its center, Mack deconstructed and rebuilt it on a platform with breakaway sections.

Now Mack, who lived in Eugene as a student and worked for the nonprofit Food for Lane County , has returned to Los Angeles, where he was born 26 years ago. He estimates a tenth of his moving boxes and bins were Lego related.

His new focus is baseball stadiums, made on a scale of one Lego brick per 12 feet.

At this year's Bricks Cascade Lego expo, he displayed models of Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium , Baltimore's Oriole Park and PNC Park , home of the Pittsburgh Pirates. He has a few more miniaturized stadiums almost completed and more he'd like to build.

"American sports is an area of Lego that fandom hasn't covered," said Mack, who posts images at Mack.Bricks on Instagram . "It's important you do what you love."

Lego building, which is used in Oregon schools as part of its hands-on science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) education , has taught Mack patience, problem solving and endurance to complete complex sets. He also sees his hobby as providing satisfaction enjoyed by people who build model airplanes and trains.

"It's rewarding if you don't give up," he said. "I have always had an interest in design and architecture and building, and I'm glad I decided to hold on to my Lego collection. Since I was a kid, I've built and destroyed lots of projects."

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