case Study
When the CEO of Porsche Latin America Retired, Playwell Bricks Designed a Meaningful Farewell Gift
Introduction
Luxury sports car dealer Porsche Latin America chose Miami, Florida, for their headquarters in the early 2000’s, calling the American city “the gateway to Latin America.” Of course, a giant like Porsche had to find an office space that matched their iconic brand.
Porsche soon chose the Miami skyscraper known as the Southeast Financial Center to house their Latin America headquarters. The building is said to “reign” over the downtown area and the Center’s stepped, sawtooth angles offer 9-16 corner offices per floor. More than twenty years later, Porsche Latin America still maintains those same offices.
challenge
As Porsche Latin America’s (now former) CEO approached retirement, the remaining team was on the hunt for the perfect retirement gift. They wanted something that would serve as a reminder of the CEO’s time with the luxury brand as well as their experience with the Porsche Latin America team. After some discussion, the team contacted Playwell Bricks to request a custom set made from genuine LEGO® bricks of the Southeast Financial Center.
solution
Playwell Bricks CEO and lead designer Jason Pyett designed the model himself. To his mind, the most important part was the sawtooth, pyramidal-shaped top and the stepped sides that give the Center its distinctive appearance. Because the steps are irregular, Pyett had to pay great care to how the brick plates overlapped to ensure the top section would have the support it needed.
To this end, Pyett also built a hidden column along the length of the skyscraper that he styled in Porsche’s iconic red and black colours. This section would only be visible during the build itself, giving the builder a lovely easter egg of Porsche branding. This column serves to add extra support for the upper structure of the Southeast Financial Center and the pyramidal steps found there.
The spine of the building has a deep groove on one side that also proved challenging to resolve in bricks. Pyett didn’t want the recipient to have to wedge the parts in, so he designed this groove with angled bricks that faced each other instead. Pyett admits it was tricky to figure this out, but simple enough to replicate once he had. Most importantly, it’s a detail that makes the build experience much more pleasant.
results
Playwell Bricks delivered the custom set of the Southeast Financial Center made of genuine LEGO® bricks to Porsche Latin America for their CEO’s retirement gift, where it was well-received as a keepsake of their time in a very special building.
