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Architecture On The Carpet: The Curious Tale Of Construction Toys And The Genesis Of Modern BuildingsStock informationGeneral Fields
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DescriptionThis entertaining book offers a novel view of architecture through the prism of construction toys. Ranging over the last century to the present, Brenda and Robert Vale draw parallels between the model-building sets of the modern period and architectural movements, social history, and national identities and myths. Some children's construction toys such as Lincoln Logs and Tudor Minibrix have looked to the past. Others have looked to the future: as early as the 1920s, the American metal toy Bilt-E-Z could be used to construct a stepped-back skyscraper like the Empire State Building. ReviewsArgues that construction toys such as Lego and Meccano not only reflect the architecture of the real world, but influence the way individual architects design. Author descriptionBrenda and Robert Vale, lifelong collectors of construction toys, are architects, writers, researchers and experts in the field of sustainable housing. They are both professors of architecture at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Their previous books include The Autonomous House, Green Architecture, The New Autonomous House and Time to Eat the Dog?, all published by Thames & Hudson. They won the United Nations Global 500 Award for Environmental Achievement in 1994. |