{"product_id":"architecture-on-the-carpet-the-curious-tale-of-construction-toys-and-the-genesis-of-modern-buildings","title":"Architecture on the Carpet: The Curious Tale of Construction Toys and the Genesis of Modern Buildings","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis intriguing book offers a novel view of the development of modern architecture through the prism of children's construction toys.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Informative, opinionated and ranging across more than a century of toys and architectural trends, this book inspires an infectious nostalgia for these wonderful toys, many of them vintage classics.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The authors discover a host of connections linking model-building sets with architectural movements, social history, and national identities. They investigate not only how model sets reflected building styles, but also whether they influenced the careers of children who grew up playing with them.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Some construction toys have looked to the past - Richter's Blocks, Lincoln Logs and Tudor Minibrix, for example. Others have looked to the future: as early as the 1920s, the American metal toy Bilt-E-Z could be used to construct the iconic stepped-back skyscraper, like the Empire State building in New York. Later the British Arkitex and American Girder and Panel mirrored the steel-framed glass towers of the modern era.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e The Vales show how the prefabricated engineered aesthetic of Meccano and Lego does seem to have influenced some notable architects. They draw out novel connections between model-railway buildings and modernism; model sets such as Castos and reinforced concrete housing; and even between the creative but slightly surreal Playplax and postmodern deconstructivist architecture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"sb-details\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGenre:\u003c\/strong\u003e Antiques \u0026amp; Collectibles, Toys \u0026amp; Games\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFormat:\u003c\/strong\u003e Hardback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublished:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2013\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 208\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/strong\u003e Thames \u0026amp; Hudson\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eISBN:\u003c\/strong\u003e 9780500342855\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Thames \u0026 Hudson","offers":[{"title":"Standard Secondhand — £8.45","offer_id":47911976501425,"sku":"SB-0500342857-C3","price":8.45,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0618\/2669\/5345\/files\/0500342857.jpg?v=1789248650","url":"https:\/\/sellbooks.co.uk\/products\/architecture-on-the-carpet-the-curious-tale-of-construction-toys-and-the-genesis-of-modern-buildings","provider":"Sell Books .co.uk","version":"1.0","type":"link"}