Mike Buerchner

For many of us, the sound of the Campanile’s carillon bells is inseparable from our memories of Berkeley, marking the hours between classes, ringing out across Sproul Plaza, and standing tall as the heart of campus life. As a longtime LEGO enthusiast, I kept asking myself: why isn’t there a LEGO set for UC Berkeley?

So I designed one.

I’m thrilled to share that my design for a LEGO Sather Tower (the Campanile) has been submitted to LEGO Ideas, a platform where fan-created designs can become official LEGO sets if they receive enough community support. The model captures the beloved tower’s iconic Gothic Revival architecture in the kind of detail that any Bear would be proud to display on a shelf.

But here’s where the Cal community comes in: LEGO Ideas projects need 10,000 votes to be reviewed for production. That means every Cal alum, student, faculty member, and fan of the tower has the power to help make this a reality: the first-ever LEGO set dedicated to the University of California. If you’ve ever felt that pang of nostalgia hearing those bells, I hope you’ll take two minutes to show your support. You can view the design and cast your vote here (it only takes a minute or two to create a LEGO Ideas account and show your support): https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/bfed185b-6f7d-417e-a450-e385cf7b43ef

If you don’t want to enter the link above, you can simply go to LEGO Ideas in your browser and search for “Sather Tower” or “Campanile”. Please also help by sharing this note with all your former (or current) fellow classmates! Go Bears!