From Matrix to Toy

System of Wooden Toys by Niko Kralj

Architect and designer Niko Kralj has donated to Museum of Architecture and Design an extensive collection of his work. With this exhibition in the Chapel of the Fužine Castle, the museum presents the part of his design that is unknown to the general public and concerns child's play. Play is an important element in a child's learning curve and the basis of its cognitive development. Play helps children understand, connect, and make sense of what they have learned through their ideas, feelings, and interactions with others.  A toy gives substance and idea to child's play.

The exhibition presents sketches, designs, documentary material and a prototype of Kralj's system of wooden toys. The idea behind these toys is to provide an incentive for the development of construction and motor skills. With sustainability in mind, Niko Kralj proposed to use scraps of solid wood from the furniture industry and turn them into trusses for children to assemble into diverse compositions based on his templates (e.g. giraffe, dog, airplane, submarine, or car) but also give free rein to their imagination, creative thinking and probing mind.    

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