Back in 2013, many of the world’s best architects and designers attended the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. Among other concepts being presented for the first time, this was where “Blockitecture” was introduced to the world by James Paulius.
Paulius, a product designer who graduate from Rochester Institute of Technology that same year, wanted to create a universal toy that was made purely out of wood and could be used safely by kids.
The resulting “Blockitecture” set is a small collection of nesting blocks that are hand-painted to recall the look of simple urban structures. Sculpture meets cityscape meets haptic fun in this set of nesting hand-painted pieces. The colorful collection of blocks can be stacked in numerous ways, but the shape and cutouts of each block requires engineering and some balance in order to create a tower or building structure.
Although block sets are typically reserved for child’s play, the “Blockitecture” set will create an attractive design worthy of an office space or a living room bookshelf for a parent, too. Because of the built-in engineering aspect of the “Blockitecture” set, it is also more challenging than simple blocks and will offer a welcome brainteaser in between work projects – or for that upcoming brainstorming+margarita party.
Since May 2014, Areaware (who worked with Paulius to produce the set) has begun retailing “Blockitecture” on online portals like Amazon. However it is only recently that the building blocks have been getting legitimate traction as a learning tool for kids and budding architects. A great addition to creative workspaces or the toy bin in general for your young Builder Ted in the making. Ingeniusly shaped, supermodular and much easier to tidy away than its concrete forebears.
The kits start at just $25 and can be bought in multiples to expand a collection of pieces. Find out more by heading over to Areaware.
