Designing woman: Tuscaloosa park designer has Lego-building hobby

Adrian Cleckler, the chief operating officer for Tuscaloosa County Park and Recreation Authority, is a Lego aficionado. Perhaps that is natural love for a person who came to PARA as a park designer but not so natural for most 44-year-olds.

"I've only been into Legos for about three years. My friend, Amy Rainey, got me into Legos because she was doing a friend's movie set. I decided to order a small set to see if I would like to do them," Cleckler said.

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Her first Lego build was a set of flowers, followed soon after by a tennis shoe modeled after an Adidas sports shoe. From there, the hobby has grown and Cleckler allows herself one set per year. Lego sets, especially the more complex ones can be quite expensive. The Lego store website lists the Millennium Falcon of "Star Wars" movie fame as the most expensive set at $849. You can build the Titanic for about $650.

Cleckler said she didn't play Legos as a child. Her focus was on Barbies and baseball.

"I have a thing for putting things together, like puzzles. When I was in college, I worked for a commercial design firm. We put together sectional office furniture where you figure out how to fit it into the space. When I got out of college, that led me into doing the same thing with playground equipment outside. I had this fascination for putting things together," Cleckler said.

Cleckler's college degree was in interior design from Virginia College and obtained a certification for AutoCad. She adapted those educational experiences to playground design. She also studied at Samford University in Birmingham. Cleckler adapted her skills on the AutoCad system which she used to lay out everything from office spaces to playground design.

"I've always had either a construction business or been in construction for my whole life," Cleckler said. "I had been putting commercial office spaces together on the computer so it was kind of an easy switch to putting playground equipment together," Cleckler said.

She was asked to join PARA in 2012 to help rebuild the parks that had been damaged or destroyed by the April, 27, 2011, tornado.

"One of my favorite playgrounds, the most meaningful of the playgrounds, is at Harmon Park. What I wanted to do was to make it look like the kids used the remnants from the tornado to build themselves a playground," Cleckler said.

The playground has a variety of things that reflect that basic theme, but the centerpiece is shaped like a tree damaged by the storm. From it, a slide zips children down to the ground level. The entrance is framed by what look like two trees broken by the storm.

Cleckler also worked on Jaycee Park, Palmore Park, Snow Hinton Park and soft play areas at the Bobby Miller Center and the McDonald Hughes Center. Cleckler designed the Space Net that is a centerpiece in Snow Hinton Park.

"My second favorite project is Mason's Place," Cleckler said. Mason's Place is at Munny Sokol Park and is a handicapped-accessible playground.

Cleckler said she loves building with Legos because she can see the start and the finish of a project. This contrasts with day to day life where the beginning and ending of things can be separated by long periods of time or might not be seen at all. Her favorite Lego project is her typewriter.

"I love old machines," Cleckler said. "I like the retro machine type. Then my piano is my second favorite set."

The piano is her most recent build and it will play music via a Bluetooth connection. It operates like the player pianos of old though its design is that of a grand piano. Cleckler said she only permits herself one nice Lego set per year due to the expense involved. She has completed seven Lego sets and has several of them in her office at PARA.

"I can't wait. There are two that I want. The main one that I want that is coming out next year – it is really hard to decide which one I want when I only allow myself one each year," Cleckler said. "I really enjoyed a trip I took to India with the Rotary Club. Next year, I know that my next piece will be an architecture piece and it will be the Taj Mahal because I went to see it in November."

Cleckler said she is also waiting for a special Batman piece.

"I'm waiting for the Batman bus to come out. That's what I'm waiting for."

Cleckler said she thinks her hobby and her job dovetail nicely. She has been over construction projects since joining PARA.

"I love watching things be built. I have a fascination even with concrete. I have a fascination with machines, especially cranes. I like watching things being built," Cleckler said.

Cleckler came to PARA without a job description in 2012, but she was designated the manager of the Phelps Center and the title of playground designer was added to her job description. She was promoted to COO at the first of February.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa park designer builds large Lego projects in her spare time