Mitoi launches architectural building block toys
Spanish toy brand Mitoi has launched two collections of colourful building blocks that enable children to recreate iconic buildings from around the world (+ slideshow).
Mitoi was founded by product designer Marc Castelló, who wanted to combine his background in designing toys for babies and children with his love of architecture.
"I saw many construction toys for children, but none with specific form, only simple wooden blocks without meaning," he said.
"For this reason I wanted to give meaning to the construction toy - a real building that is an an exemplary building in Barcelona or world architecture."
For the Miciti collection, Castelló has recreated miniature stackable versions of buildings from his home city of Barcelona including Gaudí's Sagrada Familia.
This collection also features the W Hotel by Ricardo Bofill and Agbar Tower by Jean Nouvel, as well as the city's pair of skyscrapers: Mapfre Tower by Iñigo Ortiz and Enrique Leon, and Hotel Arts by Bruce Graham.
The Miworld collection comprises the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Elizabeth Tower in London (commonly known as Big Ben), the Empire State Building in New York and an Asian pagoda.
"I have simplified the form to adapt it to the world of the toy," said Castelló. "I would like children to learn the relation between colours and form and to learn something about their urban landscape and the buildings closest to them."
The toys are made from birch wood painted in green, yellow, red and blue, and finished with varnish.