Blockitecture Big City
Construction Toy
2013 (designed), 2019-2021 (manufactured)
2013 (designed), 2019-2021 (manufactured)
| Artist/Maker |
Blockitecture, a city-building construction toy designed by James Paulius, first appeared in 2013. This set contains elements from multiple other Blockitecture sets. There are 74 wooden pieces in total, all made from New Zealand pine. The hexagonal blocks can be balanced on top of each other to build vertically, but the set also offers ways for construction to spread horizontally. Cut-outs in the bases of some of the pieces allow for cantilevered building, creating opportunity for bridges, elevated greenways, pavilions, gardens and balconies etc to become part of the built environment.
The sets that make up this collector’s edition include a range of different architectural styles and urban features. There are Brutalist pieces that include elevated walkways akin to the Barbican, and Art Deco pieces decorated with pastel colours reminiscent of buildings in Miami Beach. Different elements of city living are represented, for example industrial factories with tall chimneys and saw-tooth rooves. Alongside the industry and manufacturing pieces, we also find a selection of parts to create a garden city which includes rooftop gardens, balconies filled with plants and small courtyards build into the housing. Finally, the set includes different types of parkland: greenery with waterways, and arid desert.
The sets that make up this collector’s edition include a range of different architectural styles and urban features. There are Brutalist pieces that include elevated walkways akin to the Barbican, and Art Deco pieces decorated with pastel colours reminiscent of buildings in Miami Beach. Different elements of city living are represented, for example industrial factories with tall chimneys and saw-tooth rooves. Alongside the industry and manufacturing pieces, we also find a selection of parts to create a garden city which includes rooftop gardens, balconies filled with plants and small courtyards build into the housing. Finally, the set includes different types of parkland: greenery with waterways, and arid desert.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 75 parts.
|
| Title | Blockitecture Big City (manufacturer's title) |
| Materials and techniques | New Zealand pine painted with water-based paints |
| Brief description | Construction toy, Blockitecture, painted pine, Areaware, USA, designed 2013 |
| Physical description | 74-piece construction set made from New Zealand pine cut into various three-dimensional shapes and painted in various colours. The pieces represent parts of buildings in different styles which can be built and stacked in several ways to create larger structures and districts, plus green shapes to represent parks, blue for rivers, and model trees. |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Historical context | James Paulius was born in Chicago and graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2013. He has an interest in designing products that promote creativity, curiosity and joy, which naturally led him to start designing things for children. Paulius designed the first iteration of Blockitecture in 2013 for Areaware. The first set, Blockitecture Habitat, was awarded 1st place prize at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Metaproject03 student competition. The product has since become a commercial success, being sold around the world, in businesses that range from high-end design shops, to museums, to high-street stores such as John Lewis. Areaware, the organisation that Blockitecture was created for, is an American company who specialise in working with independent designers. They create objects for home, work and play in partnership with the designers themselves. It is a collaborative process in which they support designers in realising individual vision while also responding to consumer needs and market forces. The designers work on a royalty-basis, and Areaware oversees all aspects of bringing a product to the market, including creative direction, product development, sourcing, marketing, sales and distribution. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Blockitecture, a city-building construction toy designed by James Paulius, first appeared in 2013. This set contains elements from multiple other Blockitecture sets. There are 74 wooden pieces in total, all made from New Zealand pine. The hexagonal blocks can be balanced on top of each other to build vertically, but the set also offers ways for construction to spread horizontally. Cut-outs in the bases of some of the pieces allow for cantilevered building, creating opportunity for bridges, elevated greenways, pavilions, gardens and balconies etc to become part of the built environment. The sets that make up this collector’s edition include a range of different architectural styles and urban features. There are Brutalist pieces that include elevated walkways akin to the Barbican, and Art Deco pieces decorated with pastel colours reminiscent of buildings in Miami Beach. Different elements of city living are represented, for example industrial factories with tall chimneys and saw-tooth rooves. Alongside the industry and manufacturing pieces, we also find a selection of parts to create a garden city which includes rooftop gardens, balconies filled with plants and small courtyards build into the housing. Finally, the set includes different types of parkland: greenery with waterways, and arid desert. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | B.52-2022 |
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| Record created | February 5, 2021 |
| Record URL |
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