We've gathered 8 of our favorite colorfully constructive playthings, toys designed to unleash the imagination of anyone from ages 1-99.

Even before my short 3-year stint as a designer in the toy industry, I’ve long harbored a love for toys. I believe at their best, toys represent the tools of unfettered creativity and imagination personified into the action of play ? habits that sadly fade from the majority of adults as we age. Thankfully, adulthood has only marginally diminished my interest in playthings, with the holiday season magnifying curiosity about toys new and old. Here are 8 of my favorite architecturally-inspired playthings designed to compel exploration of form and structure, regardless of age.

Areaware Blockitecture: Designer James Paulius found inspiration for his building blocks series in one of my all-time architectural favorites: Habitat 67 ? Moshe Safdie’s renowned modern housing complex and pavilion designed for the 1967 World’s Fair in Montreal, Canada. The complete six set bundle includes the Habitat, Garden City, Deco, Factory, Brutalism and Parklands kits, inviting mix and match creations worthy of a Dwell feature.
Block?hood: With the exponential increase in complexity related to the imaginary world building in gaming today, you’d think there would be more architects involved in video game design. Which makes the development behind Block?hood ? the creation of assistant professor at the USC School of Architecture Jo...