Tsumiki Stacking Blocks by Kengo Kuma

These stackable wooden pieces offer limitless potential for the creative mind. What will you create?

Any architect will tell you that, structurally, a triangle is the strongest geometric shape. Architect Kengo Kuma, who was recently in the news for being selected to build Tokyo’s new Olympic Stadium, has taken this knowledge and rendered it into a playful and interactive interior design building set.

Satisfyingly smooth to the touch, each piece is crafted with Japanese cedar from Miyazaki Prefecture and measures about 4 ” by 4 “. Nifty notches cut into the tips of each block allow each to nestle atop the other, like those paper cut-out kits that the Japanese airlines used to offer to kids who couldn’t sit still. Kuma’s stacking blocks hold great appeal for both young and old, offering a range of creative possibilities to the user no matter their age.

They make great building blocks for the inquisitive toddler. Instead of growing up with the plain old lego set, a child can fabricate miniature structures and even animals with these wooden blocks. A few young creatives reimagined Kuma’s blocks including ideas as the framework for plant beds and the roofs of birdhouses.

Blown up to a greater scale, these blocks can be scattered, stacked, and organized to create a giant pyramid, or a Wonderlandian receding hallway of triangles. Such a the public installation was recently on display at Design Touch 2015, sponsored by Tokyo Midtown. Kuma explained the significance of this work, saying that as park visitors arranged the blocks into furniture-like structures, the park becomes more and more welcoming, like home.

These building blocks are available online starting at $75.

You can order three different sizes depending on how many blocks you want.

The package design itself is charming, with a muted grey palette and slits strategically placed to hint at the forms inside.

The Japanese timber used to create these building blocks are ecologically sound, as they have been FSC approved.

This map details the five different structures at the installation site including playground full of building blocks for children, a pyramid, and a hallway of receding blocks.