As if we weren’t excited enough that the architect’s plans are taking shape for our new Young Adults Accommodation, we now have an amazing Lego model that’s really helped us piece together how it will look!
It’s all thanks to one of our young adults, Noah Bingham, age 22. Noah has been a Lego-lover since he was 4 and remembers building one of his first sets – the Star Wars X-Wing – since then he’s lost count of how many he’s built. So, when asked if he’d like to be commissioned to build the model, he jumped at the chance to take on his first commission.
Noah explained how he went about building the model:
“I was given the architect’s drawings to work with. I began to build it on my digital building program, stud.io. This allows me to build with an infinite number of Lego bricks in every colour possible. Building it digitally took me about 3 months to complete.”
Next, Noah ordered the pieces he needed from BrickLink (a place for people to buy and sell their Lego). Sourcing the pieces was a task in itself, as Noah described:
“That took another 2 months, due to waiting for all the packages to arrive, plus postal strikes were happening at the time, making sure everything was there and ordering the missing bits – and then finally, once everything was here, I could start building.
“The building process itself was pretty smooth and quick, minus the fact I had completely forgotten to order an entire type of piece, so the wall was full of holes as I was building!”
But Noah filled the holes, completed the model and we think “everything is AWESOME!”
Joss Parker, Matron of our Children and Young Adults Service agrees:
“We’re absolutely delighted! It’s so realistic and gives a real sense of what the new building will be like.”
Joss can’t wait to have this new accommodation in action and see the difference it makes:
“It will provide a space specifically designed for Young Adults, allowing us to develop the way we work with them and support them into the future. There is currently a big gap and no provision outside of St Oswald’s Hospice to provide Young Adults with complex health needs with short breaks. This new accommodation will be an environment in which they can grow and become more independent. Our young adults will be able to transition to adult care in a more seamless way.”
Talking about Noah’s Lego model, Joss added:
“Noah took so much time and gave great attention to detail – even down to designing his own Lego wheelchairs with realistic controls. We’re so grateful to Noah – he’s done a brilliant job!”
(We couldn’t agree more – thanks, Noah!)
