Tue, 6.10.2026
7 PM
7 PM
Opening
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
© Claus Krieger Collection/Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM)
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An exhibition by the DAM – Deutsches Architekturmuseum
7.10.2026—14.3.2027
Works on Paper Room + DIREKTION FÜR ALLE!
At eight stations throughout the MAK, visitors can play, build, and develop new creations using a multitude of building blocks—right in the middle of the Columned Main Hall, the Works on Paper Room, and DIREKTION FÜR ALLE!.
This major interactive exhibition for children aged four and up was curated based on the unique private collection of graphic designer Claus Krieger, which comprises some 150 construction kits from the years 1890 to 1990. It follows the thesis that a kind of “evolutionary development” of building blocks produced this abundance of construction kits. Toy companies experimented with a wide variety of materials: artificial brick, wood, and metal, but also long-forgotten materials like Galalith and even rubber. Countless ingenious variants were developed to create connections that were durable yet easily taken apart. Ultimately, Lego managed to perfect the interlocking principle, and most other companies disappeared.
This major interactive exhibition for children aged four and up was curated based on the unique private collection of graphic designer Claus Krieger, which comprises some 150 construction kits from the years 1890 to 1990. It follows the thesis that a kind of “evolutionary development” of building blocks produced this abundance of construction kits. Toy companies experimented with a wide variety of materials: artificial brick, wood, and metal, but also long-forgotten materials like Galalith and even rubber. Countless ingenious variants were developed to create connections that were durable yet easily taken apart. Ultimately, Lego managed to perfect the interlocking principle, and most other companies disappeared.
© Graphic Design: KNIFF
© Claus Krieger Collection/Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM)
© Claus Krieger Collection
© Claus Krieger Collection
© Claus Krieger Collection
© Claus Krieger Collection
© Claus Krieger Collection
© Claus Krieger Collection
© Claus Krieger Collection
© Claus Krieger Collection
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Exclusively for this exhibition, selected construction kits have been reproduced for visitors to play with. Students from the HFT Stuttgart have created building systems modeled after historical originals, replicating the valuable original building blocks of the Ingenius, Bâtiss, and Skyline kits on an enlarged scale. Furthermore, an immersive VR experience of an architectural model as well as bricks from the Minibrix, Tetek, and Dusyma systems, along with an East German kit, will be available for experimenting, playing, and building.
The DAM exhibition was accompanied by a catalog: 111 Architekturbaukästen. Sammlung Claus Krieger, Jovis-Verlag, Berlin 2025. German, 272 pages, 500 images, available at the MAK Design Shop and online at MAKdesignshop.at/en for € 38.
The DAM exhibition concept received generous support from the IKEA Foundation.
Guest Curator: Oliver Elser, DAM – Deutsches Architekturmuseum
The educational program of the exhibition ARCHITECTURAL CONSTRUCTION KITS 1890–1990 is kindly supported by
The DAM exhibition was accompanied by a catalog: 111 Architekturbaukästen. Sammlung Claus Krieger, Jovis-Verlag, Berlin 2025. German, 272 pages, 500 images, available at the MAK Design Shop and online at MAKdesignshop.at/en for € 38.
The DAM exhibition concept received generous support from the IKEA Foundation.
Guest Curator: Oliver Elser, DAM – Deutsches Architekturmuseum
The educational program of the exhibition ARCHITECTURAL CONSTRUCTION KITS 1890–1990 is kindly supported by
Calendar
Wed, 7.10.2026
4.30 PM
4.30 PM
Adults
with Oliver Elser, DAM – Deutsches Architekturmuseum
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
Tue, 13.10.2026
6.15 PM
6.15 PM
Adults
Short and Sweet
Short and Sweet
MAK – Museum of Applied Arts
Media
“The New City,” Ingenius construction kit, Ingenius Technische- und Handels-GmbH, Austria, 1924–prob. 1929 © Claus Krieger Collection/Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM)
Ingenius construction kit (“The New City”), Ingenius Technische- und Handels-GmbH, Austria, 1924 to presumably 1929 © Claus Krieger Collection
Ingenius construction kit (“The New City”), Ingenius Technische- und Handels-GmbH, Austria, 1924 to presumably 1929 © Claus Krieger Collection
Ingenius construction kit (“The New City”), Ingenius Technische- und Handels-GmbH, Austria, 1924 to presumably 1929 © Claus Krieger Collection
Ingenius construction kit (“The New City”), Ingenius Technische- und Handels-GmbH, Austria, 1924 to presumably 1929 © Claus Krieger Collection
Les Bois de Megève, construction kit, France, ca. 1930 © Claus Krieger Collection
Elba Bouwdoos construction kit, N.V. Plaatmetaalindustrie Van Mouwerik en Bal, Netherlands, ca. 1940 © Claus Krieger Collection
Plaspi—Der kleine Großblock-Baumeister, VEB Gothaer Kunststoffverarbeitung, Germany (Thuringia), ca. 1980 © Claus Krieger Collection