BUSINESS
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | JUNE 21, 2020
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Contractors build support for Special Olympics BY CHRISTINA FUOCO-KARASINSKI Progress Staff Writer
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couple building a 4,415-squarefoot home in The Village at Silverleaf allowed Airpark-based Cullum Homes to color the skeleton of their house like Lego to show support of the Special Olympics. Insulated concrete forms are frequently compared to Lego, so Cullum Homes’ managing principal Lindsay Cullum-Colwell and Litch�ield Park-based ICF Specialists Ltd. teamed to build the block toy concept for the �irst time in Scottsdale. The couple’s name was not released. The Arizona-made ICF blocks were painted in the bright colors of red, green, blue, white and yellow. “We were really excited to be involved this year in the Lego build,” Cullum-Colwell said. “It’s something that ICF Specialists has started putting on annually. They are the subcontractor we used for the ICF block. “This is something they started last year. The blocks look like Lego and they stack like Lego. The job site looked like little Lego men building bricks. It’s eye catching. It’s an opportunity to talk about the Special Olympics.”
ICF Specialists and Cullum Homes raised money for the Special Olympics by painting ICF bricks in primary colors, like Lego. The money was raised through YouTube videos. (Courtesy Cullum Homes)
“This is something they started last year. The blocks look like Lego and they stack like Lego. The job site looked like little Lego men building bricks. It’s eye catching. It’s an opportunity to talk about the Special Olympics.”
According to Vicki Connell, ICF Specialists Ltd.’s of�ice manager, ICF blocks are frequently compared to Lego. “They’re very similar,” Connell said. “They’re a giant scale of a Lego block. There are lugs that snap into the next block. It was the brainchild of one of the owners. He thought, ‘What if we painted them primary colors and make it a charitable type of project?’” The Special Olympics was chosen because one of ICF Specialists’ HVAC subcon-
The Lego-like house was 3,600 square feet but is now covered with stucco, making it indistinguishable from other nearby homes. (Courtesy Cullum Homes)
tractors is involved in the organization. The �irst “Lego home” was in Waddell last year. “It was off of the 303 and Peoria and we just had droves of cars driving by,” Connell said. “It took off from there. We talked about doing it again this year. We met with Cullum Homes and they decided to do it
for one of their projects.” The only obstacle, Connell said, has been the HOAs, but once they understand the blocks aren’t multicolored permanently, they’re on board. At Silverleaf, the bricks were stuccoed over in early April. “Those blocks are typically white, and they stay exposed throughout the con-
struction process just like a framed home would be,” Cullum-Colwell adds. “The ICF replaces framing and insulation and foam they put on the outside of a framed wall. The stucco layers go on top of it. A regular passerby would never know those blocks were painted to look like classic Lego bricks.” Like ICF Specialists, Cullum Homes is dedicated to giving back to the community. The companies raised money through donations and viewings of YouTube videos. “We’ve been philanthropically minded over our history,” said Cullum-Colwell. “When ICF Specialists came to us and asked for our involvement, we were thrilled to be involved. Silverleaf is also philanthropically minded. We thought we would utilize that community and bring the Special Olympics’ message to the public and garner increased support for it. “People were really grabbing on to it. It’s so unique. You don’t see it very often. We hope to be invited next year. We think this is a creative way to use building science to bring awareness to a cause.”
