Luke Horwath, a senior mechanical engineering major at the University of Notre Dame, is competing on the American reality TV show “LEGO Masters.” The first episode of Season 5 aired Monday, May 19, on Fox. The show culminates in a face-off between the top two-person teams for a $100,000 cash prize, a LEGO trophy, and the grand title of LEGO Masters.
Each episode tasks contestants with building original Lego creations using the show’s three-million piece “brick pit.” Their builds must reflect a given theme—such as Star Wars, Batman, the musical Wicked—within a given time period. Teams are evaluated on creativity, technical skill, adherence to theme, execution, overall impression, and team work.
While most Lego builds are static, Horwath’s specialty is large-scale, interactive creations. His previous builds include a life-size, fully operational Lego pinball machine; a drivable go-kart; an arcade-style mechanical claw machine; and an 11-foot long, seven-foot high roller coaster.
Horwath admits that building with only Lego bricks—small, multicolored, interlocking plastic rectangles—is a constraint, but one that presents interesting engineering challenges. He credits his Notre Dame coursework, particularly solid mechanics, dynamics, and electrical engineering, with helping him overcome some of those challenges.
Sometimes, engineering concepts—shear, bending, moment of inertia—inform his Lego builds. Other times, his experience with lego enhances his work in the classroom.
“We had to design and build a self-driving, food delivery robot for class, and our group was stuck on how to make a lid that opens. And I said, okay, I think I can design us a linkage mechanism, using my experience with LEGO Technic,” said Horwath.
“So, I drew it out on a whiteboard, picturing how I would build it in Lego. We machined out the metal parts, screwed them all together, fastened the thing, and it worked perfectly.”
Although Horwath’s engineering know-how definitely helped prepare him for the competition, his childhood experiences and family support were just as pivotal. His mother, Anne Horwath, has been his Lego building partner since he was four, and now, she’s also his teammate on LEGO Masters.
He credits her with encouraging him to let his imagination run wild with custom builds rather than sticking strictly to kits.
“When I was in grade school, I was sidelined from all the sports I was playing with an ankle injury, and my mom said, ‘Luke, build me something custom. Why don’t you build me a beach?’ So, I built a one-foot-by-one-foot Lego beach diorama with some mini figures, water and sand. I really enjoyed that, so I expanded that beach into a 63-square-foot lego city that took up an entire room. My mom looks at me and said, ‘Luke, that’s a little bigger than what I had in mind.’”
Horwath’s interest in creating complex, interactive builds—like his pinball machine—inspired him to pursue mechanical engineering as a major. His passion for building with Lego comes from his drive to create objects and experiences that bring people joy.
“The year I brought my pinball machine to the Chicago LEGO convention, where, hundreds, if not 1000s, of people played it. That was my favorite year, because I could see the joy it brought other people. It’s one thing for me to build a Lego creation for myself or for my family, but building something that other people can experience, interact with and enjoy, is unbelievably powerful to me.”
LEGO Masters airs on Mondays at 8/7c on Fox.
—Karla Cruise, Notre Dame Engineering; Photos provided by Luke Horwath.