The Atom Brick x Frank Lloyd Wright: Q&A with Founder Adam Reed Tucker

Tell us a little about yourself and about your company, The Atom Brick.

I studied architecture, mechanical engineering, and the philosophy of design theory at Kansas State University. I also have a background in art and am formerly a LEGO certified professional. In 2018 I had this idea of inspiring creativity by telling the stories of the world around us. I wanted to use the brick as a construction medium, to tell the story in a very creative way. I came across a smaller brick, and I called it the atom brick, because as we know the atom is the building block of life, so the atom brick is meant to be the building block of design. I have nine categories of telling the various stories of our world, including art and design, sports, engineering, history, nature, architecture, and entertainment.

The whole idea behind The Atom Brick spawned from using an encyclopedia as a child. I used to use the encyclopedia for all of my research in school, and obviously today kids are using the internet and search engines to learn about things. I kind of wanted to take a step back and explore some of those subjects that you find in encyclopedias by storytelling through educational souvenirs.

I want to create a product line that preserves the stories of our planet for future generations to enjoy. By creating a little piece of Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture, or something else historically significant, I feel that I’m able to make these things come to life right at your fingertips, even if you may not have the chance to see or experience them in real life. The Atom Brick is intended for people of all ages, men, women, boys, and girls. It’s trying to break the stigma that bricks are just meant to be used for toys, and I want to prove that just like metal to a blacksmith or paint to a painter, that interconnecting plastic bricks can be a medium to tell many different stories through design and creativity.

What does the process look like for creating these sets from start to finish?

I begin the process by researching my subject by searching the internet, through books, and images. It’s important that I figure out what the specific elements are that must be included to capture the essence of the subject, and I’ll dial in on those.

I’ll then build study models, and from that I’ll create a completed model. I do that in gray first, not in color, that way I’m studying the forms, textures, shade, and shadow of the model by having it be monotone.

Then I’ll create another model in the correct color, and from there I go into the structural integrity phase to ensure that all the parts will stay together. Next I go into a builder experience phase, to test if it’s possible for someone that hasn’t designed this model to put it together based on the instructions. The final stage is the part optimization, where I check that the part usage in the model is the most efficient that it can be. We also include a booklet that gives a little history and background on the subject to give the person assembling the set the opportunity to gain a deeper appreciation for what they are building even if they can’t truly experience it firsthand.