Chapter 2

Witold compares the work of an architect to that of a child at play. Games were first invented for adults and passed down to the children. Consider Pieter Brueghel the Elder's painting, Children's Games, 1560, in which we see streets full of children playing some 91 games, only one of which is a building game, that of laying bricks for a house. Building houses of cards became popular at least by the mid 18th century, recorded by French painters Chardin and Coypel. In 18th century Holland, the domesticity of home life brought children indoors for quieter play, allowing the use of more time-intensive, focussed play in doll houses and Noah's arks.

Educational toys became popular through the work of Friedrich Froebel, a German would-be architect turned educator. He developed the first kindergartens for young children. The kindergarten curricula consisted of games using geometric shapes and blocks to imitate real life structures and exercise the child's natural creative instincts. Our common nursery playthings such as alphabet blocks, flash cards, and plastic construction sets that we have today were inspired by Froebel's educational tools.