{"id":6081,"date":"2016-12-08T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-08T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/the-architects-toybox\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T07:54:02","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T11:54:02","slug":"the-architects-toybox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/collections\/the-architects-toybox\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Toys Designed by Architects From the 1940s to Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

Architizer's <\/i>diverse jury of global experts<\/i><\/span><\/a> is currently reviewing submissions to<\/em> the <\/i>14th A+Awards<\/i><\/span><\/a>! Sign up to <\/i>receive updates<\/i><\/span><\/a> on Public Voting and spring winner announcements.<\/i><\/i><\/p><\/p>\n

When did you first realize you wanted to become an architect?<\/p>\n

If you ask anyone in the profession this question, most architects will hark back to their childhood and remember the building blocks, LEGO bricks and doll\u2019s houses that captured their imaginations and kept them enthralled for hours on end. Of course, many of us never really grow up, and many designers appreciate the power and potential for toys to inspire children and get them thinking about space, materials, and the joy of construction itself.<\/p>\n

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Tsumiki by Kengo Kuma; images \u00a9 Ikunori Yamamoto<\/i><\/p>\n

Kengo Kuma<\/a> is one such architect. The Japanese Modernist collaborated with Ryuichi Sakamoto\u2019s forest conservation organization More Trees<\/a> to produce Tsumiki<\/i>, an innovative set of building blocks that allows people young and old to create playful timber sculptures. A modular system allows the components to be stacked in a variety of ways with a seemingly infinite number of configurations, with the possibility of creating anything from camels and dogs to pyramids and towers.<\/p>\n

Kuma is not the first architect to design a plaything that can inspire creative thinking. Here are a few more from throughout history that show we are never too old to delve into the toy box:<\/p>\n

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The Tyng Toy; via Daddy Types<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

The Tyng Toy<\/i> was a modular, slot-together building system made from plywood and dowel pins designed by young architect Anne Tyng<\/b> in the 1940s.<\/p>\n

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Rietveld\u2019s Doll\u2019s House; via the Brooklyn Museum<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld<\/b> presented the plans for this dolls\u2019 house to the Jesse family, his repeat clients, in the 1940s. It was fabricated by a carpenter and given to the children in 1952 and eventually ended up in the Brooklyn Museum<\/a> some 56 years later.<\/p>\n

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The Toy; via Eames Office<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

American designers Charles and Ray Eames<\/b> conceived numerous toys during their prestigious careers including The Toy<\/i>, a minimalist take on an indoor tent or den with 51 possible configurations.<\/p>\n

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The Solar Do-Nothing Machine; via Eames Office<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Another of Eames\u2019 creations was the Solar Do-Nothing Machine<\/i>. Completed in 1957, the complex kinetic sculpture was one of the first uses of solar power to produce electricity.<\/p>\n

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Dowel-Block Toy by Torafu Architects; via Bloesem Kids<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

More recently, Japanese firm Torafu Architects<\/b><\/a> emulated Anne Tyng\u2019s toy with its own dowel-block toy allowing children to build anything from cameras to skyscrapers with colored blocks of assorted shapes.<\/p>\n

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This Must Be the Place by Zaha Hadid; via e-architect<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

20 architects and designers designed and constructed a series of modern dolls\u2019 houses in a bid to raise $150,000 for disabled children\u2019s charity KIDS. Zaha Hadid<\/b><\/a>\u2019s puzzle-like house, entitled This Must Be the Place<\/i>, was characteristically sculptural in nature \u2026<\/p>\n

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Elektra House by David Adjaye; via e-architect<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

\u2026 While David Adjaye<\/b><\/a> produced a meticulous replica of his Elektra House in London, complete with tiny golden furniture.<\/p>\n

Architizer's <\/i>diverse jury of global experts<\/i><\/span><\/a> is currently reviewing submissions to<\/em> the <\/i>14th A+Awards<\/i><\/span><\/a>! Sign up to <\/i>receive updates<\/i><\/span><\/a> on Public Voting and spring winner announcements.<\/i><\/i><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are a few architects’ creations from throughout history that show we are never too old to delve into the toy box<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"architizer_featured_type":"projects","architizer_featured_image":"1421012","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,3],"tags":[29],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[],"architizer_firm":[],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-6081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-collections","category-inspiration","tag-play"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n8 Toys Designed by Architects From the 1940s to Today - Architizer Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/collections\/the-architects-toybox\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"8 Toys Designed by Architects From the 1940s to Today - 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