Written in a clear, readable style, refreshingly free of jargon, Architecture in Play uses a number of prominent construction toys in Europe and the United States as examples of an interconnectedness between such toys and mainstream architectural thought. Tamar Zinguer’s book broadens our understanding of the larger contextual field of architectural discourse.

Architecture often seems to lack the spirit of playfulness that other arts display at times. With this highly original and brilliant book Tamar Zinguer deconstructs this common perception by revealing the influence of children’s building toys on many nineteenth- and twentieth-century architects. As Zinguer argues, the conception and use of these toys, some of which were actually invented by architects, are related to key design ideals from prefabrication to the quest for structural lightness. Well before the advent of the digital and the spread of strategic simulation, architecture already appeared as a 'serious game.’

Several architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Buckminster Fuller, and Charles and Ray Eames, have credited Friedrich Froebel and his Kindergarten Gifts with their professional pursuits. As such, what formative influences do toys possess? Responding to this query, Professor of Architecture at Cooper Union Tamar Zinguer seeks answers in her book Architecture in Play.... [Zinguer] succinctly displays the depth of her knowledge from commercial endeavors like the Levitt Brothers and Lustron Homes to projects by architects Konrad Wachsmann, Buckminster Fuller, and Walter Gropius.... In addition, readers fascinated with early flight experiments, like those of Alexander Graham Bell or the Lilienthal brothers, or bridge engineering, such as designs by Thomas Bouch or Sir John Fowler, will be pleasantly engrossed and enticed to discover more. Readers interested in building toys will also be pleased. In four generously illustrated chapters, Zinguer covers six of the most popular and long-produced construction toys from the late nineteenth century to the middle twentieth century in Europe and North America.

Tamar Zinguer’s elegantly produced book on building toys and architecture is a long-awaited addition to a growing academic literature on playthings, their design histories, and social implications. Zinguer’s book joins a series of exhibitions and catalogs produced by the Canadian Centre for Architecture (1990s); cultural and consumer histories,... While she stays within those established conventions, she also explores the tantalizing implications not only of the largescale potential for miniaturized construction, but also of failure and destruction as a creative force.

"Zinguer's innovative and wide-ranging book marshals evidence for the place of construction toys in the genealogy of modernism. It also poses intriguing questions about such toys' potential as tools for rethinking architecture and spatial thought...."

Written in a clear, readable style, refreshingly free of jargon, Architecture in Play uses a number of prominent construction toys in Europe and the United States as examples of an interconnectedness between such toys and mainstream architectural thought. Tamar Zinguer’s book broadens our understanding of the larger contextual field of architectural discourse.

Architecture often seems to lack the spirit of playfulness that other arts display at times. With this highly original and brilliant book Tamar Zinguer deconstructs this common perception by revealing the influence of children’s building toys on many nineteenth- and twentieth-century architects. As Zinguer argues, the conception and use of these toys, some of which were actually invented by architects, are related to key design ideals from prefabrication to the quest for structural lightness. Well before the advent of the digital and the spread of strategic simulation, architecture already appeared as a 'serious game.’

Several architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Buckminster Fuller, and Charles and Ray Eames, have credited Friedrich Froebel and his Kindergarten Gifts with their professional pursuits. As such, what formative influences do toys possess? Responding to this query, Professor of Architecture at Cooper Union Tamar Zinguer seeks answers in her book Architecture in Play.... [Zinguer] succinctly displays the depth of her knowledge from commercial endeavors like the Levitt Brothers and Lustron Homes to projects by architects Konrad Wachsmann, Buckminster Fuller, and Walter Gropius.... In addition, readers fascinated with early flight experiments, like those of Alexander Graham Bell or the Lilienthal brothers, or bridge engineering, such as designs by Thomas Bouch or Sir John Fowler, will be pleasantly engrossed and enticed to discover more. Readers interested in building toys will also be pleased. In four generously illustrated chapters, Zinguer covers six of the most popular and long-produced construction toys from the late nineteenth century to the middle twentieth century in Europe and North America.

Tamar Zinguer’s elegantly produced book on building toys and architecture is a long-awaited addition to a growing academic literature on playthings, their design histories, and social implications. Zinguer’s book joins a series of exhibitions and catalogs produced by the Canadian Centre for Architecture (1990s); cultural and consumer histories,... While she stays within those established conventions, she also explores the tantalizing implications not only of the largescale potential for miniaturized construction, but also of failure and destruction as a creative force.

"Zinguer's innovative and wide-ranging book marshals evidence for the place of construction toys in the genealogy of modernism. It also poses intriguing questions about such toys' potential as tools for rethinking architecture and spatial thought...."