BuffaLUG
BuffaLUG is a recognized LEGO User Group (RLUG) for Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) in the Western New York region. Members come from diverse professional backgrounds, all united by a shared passion for LEGO. This diversity fosters the exchange of knowledge, building tips, and creative ideas.
Their mission is to connect AFOLs, providing a space to showcase creations, share experiences, and grow as builders. BuffaLUG also serves as a platform to raise awareness of the group, highlight individual builds, and collaborate on public projects that bring enjoyment to the local community. Through strong partnerships with cultural institutions in the Buffalo/Niagara area, BuffaLUG enhances events to create enriching experiences for LEGO fans of all ages.
Eric Santiago (Project Manager) is an artist, builder, and community organizer based in Buffalo, NY. His creative work centers on LEGO as a medium for storytelling and engagement. As founder of BuffaLUG, Eric has led large-scale collaborative projects that celebrate local culture and invite hands-on participation.
The 12th Man in Pieces, 2026
LEGOÂź 1Ă1 plates (Design ID 3024)
Created through public participation across Western New York as part of The 12th Man Mosaic Project, this large-scale collaborative LEGOÂź mosaic brought together more than 2,000 participants through a series of community build events. Contributors assembled individual sections of the ïŹnal image, transforming over 85,000 LEGOÂź elements into a single uniïŹed installation. Participants never saw the complete image while building, only their small portion of a much larger whole, allowing the work to become an act of collective trust, connection, and creation. Families, students, fans, artists, and ïŹrst-time builders all contributed side by side, turning thousands of individual actions into a physical record of participation, collaboration, and community â documenting a moment in Buffalo through collective participation and shared creation.
Special thanks to the thousands of community participants who contributed to the project, along with our community partners and event hosts across Western New York, including Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo, Roswell Park Community Outreach and Engagement Center, UB Startup and Innovation Collaboratory, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Erie, Niagara & the Southern Tier, The Buffalo Zoo, Walden Galleria Mall, Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, Bricks & Minifigs Buffalo Southtowns, Hutch Tech Alumni Association, The Collaborative Center for Social Innovation, Rocks of Unity, Amherst Central Schools, VA WNY - Veteran's Hospital, New York Frame, and Katrina Cropo.
