Senior Fletcher K. Explores Architecture of Grace Church

Two years ago, Dean Chan tasked the class of 2026 to “take something you love and really go for it.” Hearing these words, Fletcher K. ’26 pondered his passions—he liked Star Wars, architecture, the class he was taking with Mr. Root (Dante’s Divine Comedy), and Lego. Ultimately, he decided upon a 3-D Lego rendering of Grace Church. The initial scope of his ambitions were just that: to construct a to-scale model of the church in which he’d spent the past several years attending Chapel. 

One day, as he was taking photos of the Church’s exterior, he was approached by the Reverend Harry Krauss. A mentorship blossomed, and Fletcher’s project evolved into one that explored not just the architectural elements of the Church, but also the history that informed its construction, contextualized by extensive archival research. Spending weekends and after-school hours digging through Grace Church’s archives with the Reverend Krauss, Fletcher was able to understand each element of the Church he was recreating, adding new meaning and importance to the ways in which he chose to portray it. Limited by Lego but emboldened by his desire to honor history, Fletcher had to make difficult choices about which elements were most important to uphold, balancing the obstacles of accuracy, structural integrity, and feasibility. It was particularly rewarding when Fletcher found a way to replicate a certain cornice or scaffold but equally discouraging when forced to improvise, and therefore diminish elements that lacked Lego counterparts: the spire, notably, a Lego sword.  

Fletcher quickly became consumed by his deep interest and passion for the project. In reflecting on the final product, he acknowledged that, knowing what he knows now, he could’ve built the final structure in less than half the time. But more importantly, he learned the value of an independent project, noting, “…how much something you love can bring meaning to your day.” Whether in the digital building tool, reading one of the Reverend Krauss’s many book suggestions, sourcing pieces from around the world, or scrupulously assembling the structure, Fletcher would get lost in the process, something he hadn’t experienced before IP10.

Fletcher’s IP10 symposium display was the first iteration of his construction. Since March of 2023, he has continued to develop the model and research the history and architecture of Grace Church. He spent this past summer interning at the Merchant Housing as a writer and archivist and hopes to do much of the same in college and beyond.