Bricks by the River
HCMC, Vietnam
April 12-17, 2026
Following the success of Bricks by the Beach Danang 2025,
we invite you to come experience the magic of the LEGO® Serious Play® method in the dynamic metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Learn new skills, activities, and applications of LSP to use in your sessions while networking and learning from other LSP facilitators and enthusiasts.
Experience Vietnamese culture and savor the amazing cuisine
Leave with memories that will last you a lifetime
Experience the Bricks by the River Adventure
12 - 13 April
Become Certified as a LEGO® Serious Play® Method Facilitator
Two days of intense yet playful training with an international team of trainers.
Gain a hands-on experience as a participant, and then reflect on the process with the trainers, before designing and leading your own LSP practice activities under the guidance of experienced LSP trainers.
14 - 15 April
Build on your LSP knowledge and skills
Two days of workshops, master classes and UnConference-type sessions covering a wide range of themes to support your LEGO® Serious Play® facilitation practice through hands-on learning and practice. Theres even an opportunity to bring a question or something to share with your peers.
We will provide the LEGO®. You bring your curiousity and willingness to have fun.
16 & 17 April
Build on your expertise
Advanced Certifications: Hands-On Thinking Coach with Paul Sanbar, MCC, ESIA, and Team Psychological Safety Practitioner training with Dr. David Newman & Lan Anh Nguyen. Both of these trainings will have an online component following the retreat for full certification and to receive ICF CCE credit.
Certification as a LEGO® Serious Play® method Facilitator
12th & 13th April, 2026
Gain an internationally-recognised certification in LEGO® Serious Play® methods through LSP Method in this Bricks by the River HCMC special offering.
What is LEGO® Serious Play® Methodology?
LSP is a facilitated process led by trained facilitators or educators. Developed as a strategic planning tool in the LEGO Group in the 1990s, the method spread into large multinational companies. Many Fortune 500 and global companies use LSP including: Google, Facebook, Coca Cola, IKEA, Ernst & Young, eBay, Shell and Prudential Assurance. It is also used in many universities internationally, along with NGO’s, governments, and by coaches. LEGO Serious Play Methods is a powerful system for participants to create representations of their inner world and ideas (as opposed to building representations of the physical world). This improves the communication and ideation process as they externalise internal ideas through the building of metaphoric representations. This creates a more psychologically safe environment for sharing and discussion of ideas and issues. Through the process of building physical representations of abstract ideas, meaning and sense emerges, along with stories. There is a reflective aspect both in the building and in the sharing that follows. As everyone builds and shares, the method is very democratic, creating a level playing field for everyone to contribute.
LEGO Serious Play (LSP) methodology is a 3D thinking and sensemaking system that uses the LEGO system to access a wider portion of our brain than reading, speaking, thinking, or writing do on their own (our hands are connected to about 70% of our brains). It is a form of physical thinking that uses the LEGO brick system to create metaphors, and then through storytelling, insights and understanding.
Learning Outcomes of the Facilitator Certification Training
Gain competency in running a LEGO Serious Play method session or integrating it into your current meetings and offerings, gained through an experiential process, with reflection, discussion, and feedback at each of the stages
Introduction to the neuroscience and learning theories underlying the effectiveness of LEGO Serious Play methodology, along with sharing of different use cases and where it could be applied.
Development and feedback on a session plan for your first use of LEGO Serious Play methods.
You will also experience running a portion of a LSP session as part of the 2nd day of training. Feedback and coaching will be provided as part of this session.
What does the training look like?
The training will begin with a Zoom session about a week ahead of the in-person training in HCMC. We will schedule this at the most convenient time based on time zones of registrants (we may even have two sessions if there are vastly different time zones). This session will provide you an introduction to LEGO Serious Play methods, the background to its development, and some of the neuroscience and theories underpinning its power as a methodology.
The first day of in-person training will be focused on you gaining hands-on experience of the LEGO Serious Play process as a participant, alternating with reflection and discussion of the facilitator role in the process. At the end of the day we will explore the process of designing a workshop (which you will also work on). This first day is intense, but there will be a lot of laughter and fun as part of it. We will begin at 8:30am. Take a break for lunch, and then continue to about 4:30pm. The second day will begin with discussion and feedback on your draft workshop plan, and then an introduction to system-level builds. Then we will move into practice sessions, which will be the main focus of the day. Everyone being certified will run a LEGO Serious Play session during the day and receive feedback from their colleagues and the trainers. With successful completion on the second day, you will be certified as a LEGO Serious Play methods facilitator through LSP Methods. Our schedule will be similar to the previous day.
Who will be leading the training?
The LSP Facilitator certification will be led by an international team of Trainers of LSP facilitators, with experience in the use of, and facilitation of, the LEGO® Serious Play® method in a variety of contexts.
Miriam O Donoghue is based on Ireland, and facilitates and conducts training internationally. Dr. David Newman has been using LSP in an educational context and trains educators and facilitators in North America and Asia. Lan Anh Nguyen is an experienced Human Resources leader and coach who has been using LSP in her corporate work and is the first trainer of LSP facilitators in Vietnamese. Michael Fearne will likely make a guest appearance via Zoom on the 2nd day of the training.
Bricks by the River Retreat
14th & 15th April, 2026
We will have two days of workshops, masterclasses, and sharing among LEGO® Serious Play® facilitators. The workshops and masterclasses will receive a certificate and be recognized by LSP Method as courses counting towards the LSP Expert Facilitator and LSP Master Facilitator levels (see here https://bit.ly/4asAA9g for more details).
Build Your Name, Build Your Connection
Miriam O Donoghue
Kick off the retreat by creating a LEGO® name badge and turning it into a conversation starter. Create a badge that says a little more about you and makes it easier to connect, be playful and talk from the very first brick.
Bricks of Awareness: Enhancing EI Through LEGO® Serious Play®
M Azeem Saheer
This 3-hour masterclass blends Emotional Intelligence with the power of LEGO® Serious Play® to help participants explore themselves in a deeper, more meaningful way. Through hands-on building and guided reflection, you will uncover the emotions behind your decisions, recognise personal triggers, and develop strategies for managing reactions with clarity. The session also enhances social awareness by revealing how your behaviours influence others. This playful yet profound experience moves beyond theory, offering practical insights and tools to strengthen self-awareness, self-management, and interpersonal understanding one brick at a time. Takeaways from this session include: • Clearer self-awareness of thinking patterns, behaviours, and emotional triggers • Practical tools to manage emotions and responses in real work situations • Improved interpersonal understanding and communication • The ability to turn abstract ideas into clear, shared understanding
The Art of Questioning in LEGO® Serious Play®: Mastering the Focused Conversation Method
Miriam O Donoghue
The art of good questions and meaningful discussion is where LEGO® Serious Play® insights really take shape. This masterclass explores the ORID Focused Conversation Method, a powerful framework and process developed by the Institute for Cultural Affairs (ICA). It supports facilitators to guide groups from storytelling to insight to action. On completion of the Masterclass Participants will: •Understand the four stages of the ORID Focused Conversation Method and how each supports deeper meaning-making e.g. after LSP® builds, at the end of LSP sessions etc. Plan and ask better questions that move groups naturally from describing their model to exploring emotions, uncovering insights, identifying themes, and deciding what matters. •Facilitate richer, more focused discussions without dominating the conversation or drifting off-track. •Use ORID as a consistent, reliable structure that enhances confidence, especially when conversations become complex or charged. •Apply ORID immediately in LSP® sessions, from quick model debriefs to longer leadership, strategy, team, or wellbeing conversations
Integrating LSP into Action Learning for Problem Solving
Lan Anh Nguyen
This masterclass provides a framework of combining LSP with Action Learning. Action Learning is a problem-solving process, typically undertaken in a group of 4-6 people with either a multiple project action learning (MPAL) or single project action learning (SPAL). The problem presenter/owner shares the challenge or problem they have, and the rest of the team bring their ‘fresh eyes’ to the situation, asking questions that help the participant clarify their objectives, plan a course of action and reflect on the effectiveness of their actions. This will follow the LSP process of” Challenge – Build – Share – Reflection. Upon completion, the team or problem presenter will have some action steps as the outcome, and there is collective sharing of observations and learnings from the process.
Quack, Create and Connect with the LEGO® Duck
Miriam O Donoghue
What can six simple bricks unlock? What can we learn from the LEGO® duck? This engaging and playful workshop will explore a series of creative activities based around the LEGO® duck. Through individual and shared moments of building, participants will discover how a small, familiar object can open up big insights, rich metaphors, and meaningful conversations with ideas that can be implemented or adapted for LSP facilitation practice.
Using LSP to Explore Values Within the Workplace
Dr. Nada Al Moosa
The workplace environment is facing an increasing need for strong, cohesive teams. A common challenge is finding the time for in-depth discussion. This session blends LSP with the Live Your Values deck to help identify core values and how they align within an organisational team and workplace. Participants will experiment with individual and group builds to explore where values are in alignment or diverge, and how they support their roles, and the role of the team. Included will be space for contextualized experience sharing from LSP facilitators enabling broader experiences to be shared with insights on how the tools can be applied across a variety of contexts.
Community Canvas & LEGO® Serious Play® methodology
Dr. Undi Gunawan
Strong communities are more than just networks; they are the architectural foundations of shared innovation and resilience. To build a community that lasts, members must align on a clear "canvas" of shared values, identity, and purpose. This workshop utilizes the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology to transform these abstract social dynamics into tangible, 3D models. By engaging in "hand-knowledge," participants are able to externalize complex thoughts and build a collective vision that ensures every voice is seen and heard. This process prepares us to construct a robust community structure that is both strategically aligned and deeply connected.
The AI-Enhanced Facilitator: Future-Proofing with LSPedu
Chee Kiat OH
While LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is rooted in the "Hand-Brain" connection, the landscape of learning is changing. Are you ready for the digital-tactile revolution? Chee Kiat, a pioneer in LSPedu, brings a high-octane contrast to traditional facilitation. This session moves beyond the brick to introduce the LSPeduAI and LSPeduCARDS ecosystem, a cutting-edge integration designed to supercharge the "Challenge" and "Reflect" phases of the LSP process. Chee Kiat will demonstrate how to bridge the gap between physical building and artificial intelligence, using LSPeduAI to capture, synthesize, and catalyze deeper metaphorical insights in real-time. You’ll also master the LSPeduCARDS, a specialized scaffolding tool that prevents "blank-brick syndrome" and ensures every builder, from tech-savvy students to high-level executives, finds their flow immediately. If you want to see how the world’s oldest toy meets the world’s newest technology, this session is your gateway to the future of the method. Takeaways from this "Future-Ready" session: Hybrid Mastery: How to integrate LSPeduAI as a digital co-facilitator to document and deepen the building process. Scaffolding Success: Using LSPeduCARDS to provide structured prompts that guide participants through complex technical or social challenges. The "Phygital" Edge: Strategies for maintaining the tactile magic of LEGO® while leveraging digital tools for scalability and data-rich outputs. Future-Proofing Your Practice: Insights into how the LSPedu framework adapts to the needs of Gen Z and AI-driven workplaces.
Integrating AI into LSP
Roundtable interactive discussion and experimentation
We will have an open roundtable discussion regarding the integration of AI with the LEGO® Serious Play® method. Everyone in the room will be invited to share their experience, ideas, and wisdom.
Advanced Certification
16th & 17th April, 2026
Certified Hands-on Thinking Coach
16th April
Paul Sanbar, MCC, ESIA, EIA-SP with Dr. David Newman, ACC supporting
This training begins with 8 hours of hybrid training in HCMC, followed by 7 hours of online training via Zoom in subsequent weeks (23rd & 30th April, 9am HCMC /22nd & 29th April, 7pm PST). Paul will be leading via Zoom with David supporting in-person.
This will be followed by a recorded LSP-LS coaching session with a client and a 1:1 Mentor session with Paul. Upon completion you will receive 16 ICF CCEs: 13.5 Core Comp. & 2.5 Res Dev [+4.0 CCEs-SUPERvision 1st year). Prerequisite is either be trained as a LSP facilitator OR some coach training through a recognised coach training programme. This will also be offered on Saturday, 18th April to a 2nd cohort.
If you can see the invisible, you can do the impossible.
As coaches, we all have clients that get stuck in their heads. They come to us with cluttered minds, and we help them separate out what isn’t working or connect with what is. And sometimes we need a hand – which the philosopher Kant called the human’s outer brain and the window to the mind.
Coaching with LSP is play with a purpose. In this experiential coach training designed by an ICF Master Certified Coach (MCC) and EMCC Accredited Coach Supervisor (ESIA), you will: ✓ Deepen your understanding of the hand-mind connection and the power of the meaning-seeking mind with LSP, then experience and learn how to deliver an LSP group coaching session. ✓ Engage in, then learn how to deliver and debrief a proprietary Thinkering Styles Activity with your clients, from individuals to teams because how we build anything is how we build everything. ✓ See the LSP - Liminal Spaces™ 1:1 coaching framework, then delve into the theory and practice. ✓ Learn how to engage your clients in a full LSP coaching session using the or a brief in-session LSP activity using the Moments of Lead/Lag theory and have opportunities to practice because hands-on experience is the key to learning. Expanding on constructionism learning theory, Gestalt psychology, systemic constellations work, clean language and the power of metaphor, coaching with LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® [LSP] methods using the Liminal Spaces framework will support your clients to think and build with their hands enabling them to make tangible what was once invisible.
INCLUDED with TRAINING:
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Training Materials: LEGO® kits & materials for you + 1 coaching kit for your 1st client
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1- Year access to Hands-on Thinking Coach Community including:
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Bimonthly Learning Labs - deepen your knowledge, connect with other hands-on thinkers
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Monthly Drop-in LSP Liminal Spaces™ Coach SUPERvision (for 1-year
Team Psychological Safety Practitioner certification
17th April
David Newman, PhD, ACC, ITCA-P + Lan Anh Nguyen, MBA, CPHR, SHRM-CP
This training begins with a 3-hour Zoom session prior to the 8- hours of in-person training in HCMC, followed by another 3 hours of online training via Zoom (dates to be confirmed shortly and will be on either a Saturday or Sunday). Upon completion you will receive 28 ICF CCEs (16 Core Competencies & 12 Resource Development).
Google's Project Aristotle identified Team Psychological Safety as the most critical factor for high-performing teams. Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson's foundational research was further developed by Peter Cauwelier into this certification programme (endorsed by Amy Edmondson).
This training provides a comprehensive understanding of Team Psychological Safety (TPS), its core elements, and foundations. You'll learn to administer and interpret a TPS assessment tool, with LEGO® Serious Play® method integrated throughout to design interventions that increase and sustain team performance.
Upon completion, participants will:
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Become certified TPS Practitioners authorized to deliver TPS programmes and use the TPS assessment with teams
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Receive 28 ICF CCEs (Core Competencies = 16, Res. Dev. = 12)
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Gain an additional tool for using LSP with teams
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Join a global community improving and enhancing Team Psychological Safety (over 1100 certified in 32 countries).
Location & Venue
Bricks by the River HCMC will be based at the Liberty Central Saigon Riverside in front of the Bach Dang Ferry Terminal. Aside from the views of the bustling Saigon River, the hotel is in close proximity to many District 1 attractions, such as the Ben Thanh Market, Nguyen Hue Walking Street, Bitexco Financial Tower, and Saigon Opera House.
We invite you to stay at the Saigon Riverside hotel, but you are welcome to stay at one of the other hotels close by (such as the Riverside Hotel Saigon).
Session Facilitators/Trainers
Videos
Bricks by the River Information Session
We regularly have information sessions about the Retreat where we can answer questions and on occasion have one of the session facilitators joining us to share. Email us if you would like to know when the next information session is.
Paul Sanbar on Certified Hands-on Thinking Coach training
Hands-On Thinking Coaching Demonstration
M Azeem Saheer on enhancing EI through LEGO® Serious Play®
Miriam O Donoghue on The Art of Questioning in LEGO® Serious Play®
Meet the Organizing Team
What does this cost?
Get a discount by registering early
Certification as a LEGO® Serious Play® Method Facilitator USD2,400
Lunar New Year Special (Registration by 7th March, 2026) USD2,100
2-Days of Bricks by the River Retreat USD1,800
Lunar New Year Special (Registration by 7th March, 2026) USD1,500
Advanced Certification USD1,000
Lunar New Year Special (Registration by 7th March, 2026 USD800
Bundle - LSP Facilitator Certification + Bricks by the River Retreat USD3,200
Lunar New Year Special (Registration by 7th March, 2026) USD2,700
Bundle - Bricks by the River Retreat + 1 Advanced Certification USD2,500
Lunar New Year Special (Register by 7th March, 2026) USD2,300
Prices do not include VAT, hotel accommodations or flights.
Lunch and dinner along with any transportation costs related to the River Cruise are included in the registration costs.
Options and costing of local tours will be advised later.
International registrations will receive a Stripe link for payment upon registration.
Vietnam-based registrations will receive a draft contract and invoice, along with bank details for payment (or contact us for credit card payment details).
Images & Testimonials from Bricks by the Beach Danang
In April 2025 we ran a highly successful pilot Bricks event in Danang to test the format. This informed our planning for Bricks by the River HCMC.
