photo by Tantek Çelik
For many of us, this is the time of year we are busy buying toys for the children in our lives. Of course, some of these children are all grown up but still like their toys.
Over the years several famous toys have been developed by architects, or made for architects.
Lincoln Logs
Way back to 1916, Lincoln Logs were invented by John L. Wright. He modeled their interlocking notches after a project by his father, Frank Lloyd Wright. Named after President Lincoln, over 100 million sets of Lincoln Logs have been played with through the years.
Soma
When I was young I was fascinated by the Soma cube. It’s seven variously shaped pieces could be combined into a whole booklet of blockish figures. Made of red or blue plastic in the 1970s, the current versions are solid hardwood. Created in 1936 by Piet Hein, apparently it is of interest to some architects.
Rubik’s Cube
Another puzzle game, much more difficult than the Soma cube, is the famous Rubik’s Cube. I was told it was invented to help architecture students visualize 3D objects. But actually Runo Rubik made it in 1975 to study a problem of structural moving parts.
In other words, it’s “toy-ness” was completely accidental! Yet it has become one of the most popular toys ever produced.
Froebel Gifts
What may be the most influential toy in American architectural history is entirely unknown to most people—and it was not considered a toy by it’s maker.
Many books on Frank Lloyd Wright describe how, as a young child, his mother gave him the Froebel Gifts, a set of wooden blocks. Wright himself wrote about how deeply ingrained their geometry became in his mind.
Designed by the inventor of kindergarten, Friedrich Froebel, the first ones were made by in the 1840s. Though they are from a bygone era they would still make a wonderful, albeit expensive, gift for a child today.