A Slick Lego Competitor Built for Tiny Kids and Infinite Creativity
- 03.07.14
- 6:30 AM
Design Professor Richard Elaver wanted to get his son hooked on building and came up with Flexure, a system of wooden dowels and rubbery connectors that make building easy. Photos by Richard Elaver
Flexure is comprised of wooden dowels and a set of silicone rubber joints that allow for crazy constructions. Photos by Richard Elaver
"I wanted the pieces to innately lead to non-block forms, to literally lead to out-of-the-box building," says Elaver. "I specifically avoided 90-degree angles, and with Flexure it's easier to make a hexagon than a square." Photos by Richard Elaver
Old chemistry textbooks provided inspiration, and the system can be used to model simple molecules—though he's quick to point out that triple-covalent bonds are beyond the scope of the current set. Photos by Richard Elaver
"Structures like those designed by Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid cannot be made with traditional building blocks," says Elaver. "They are based on flexible, dynamic mesh models—a moveable grid of non-rectangular elements." Photos by Richard Elaver
"The system continues to prove that a small number of flexible pieces opens up an infinite number of outcomes," says Elaver. Photos by Richard Elaver
The system's wooden dowels follow a Fibonacci 2-3-5 pattern for their lengths, which keeps models in mathematical harmony. Photos by Richard Elaver
"When adults see the set, they often ask what the blue ball-ends are for," says Elaver. "But Simon never asked that question. He just stuck one on a stick and made a drumstick with it and started playing every surface in the room." Photos by Richard Elaver
Flexure is currently raising funds on Kickstarter. Photos by Richard Elaver
SIMILAR GALLERIES
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Legos are exquisitely engineered, capable of constructing stunning structures, and totally frustrating to those lacking fine motor skills. Design Professor Richard Elaver wanted to get his 18-month-old son Simon hooked on building and put every kid-friendly construction kit he could find in front of him, but all of the expensive offerings were rebuffed in favor of a simple silicone spatula. As Elaver watched his son repeatedly slide the wooden handle into the rubber paddle, he came up with the idea for Flexure, a creative system of wooden dowels and rubbery connectors that make building easy. It’s now raising funds on Kickstarter.
Unlike Duplo blocks which merely enlarge the exacting grid of the Lego system, Flexure is designed to accommodate the Pre-K crowd. Instead of the tight tolerances common to plastic construction kits, Elaver’s system flexes and provides a forgiving interface to budding builders. More time can be spent experimenting with fewer calls to parents for help.
Where most systems focus on right angles and fixed construction, Elaver’s goal was to create a system that was flexible by every definition of the word. “I wanted the pieces to innately lead to non-block forms, to literally lead to out-of-the-box building,” says Elaver. “I specifically avoided 90-degree angles, and with Flexure it’s easier to make a hexagon than a square.”
Elaver also looked for inspiration in nature. The system’s wooden dowels follow a Fibonacci 2-3-5 pattern for their lengths, which keeps models in mathematical harmony. Fractals drove his thinking and the idea of using a small number of parts to create large structures captured his imagination. Even old chemistry textbooks provided inspiration, and the system can be used to model simple molecules—though he’s quick to point out that triple-covalent bonds are beyond the scope of the current set.
Flexure is comprised of a small set of pieces, yet enables large scale projects and real world interaction. Lego prompts kids to make models of objects, but Flexure is designed to make the objects themselves. “When adults see the set, they often ask what the blue ball-ends are for,” says Elevar. “But Simon never asked that question. He just stuck one on a stick and made a drumstick with it and started playing every surface in the room.”
New Forms for New Inspirations
Rectilinear bricks made perfect sense in the Modernist moment of the 1950s, however a new age requires new toys. “Structures like those designed by Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid cannot be made with traditional building blocks,” says Elaver. “They are based on flexible, dynamic mesh models—a moveable grid of non-rectangular elements.” Flexure is designed to prepare tykes for a world where 3-D printers are the norm and models are more likely to be dimensional triangular form instead of a grid of pixels.
In the end, theoretical justifications are nice, but no amount of highfalutin theory will impress fussy two-year-olds. Elaver has been constantly testing and refining the system based on feedback from users.
Elaver is also cognizant of the fact that while kids may play with Flexure, parents will pay for it. He draws aesthetic direction from his time spent working at Dutch design collective Droog and hopes design-conscious parents find the familiar materials, forms, and decided lack of technology appealing to more refined sensibilities. “It’s more likely to remind you of something in your grandmother’s house, rather than a high-tech product,” he says. “And is therefore immediately familiar and disarming.”
Despite the apparent simplicity of the system, Elaver is continuously impressed by how inventive users can be. An adult friend crafted a beer holder using the suction cups. Elaver’s students figured out how to hack the kit to created square boxes, much to their professor’s chagrin. And one rainy day, Simon used a treasure trove of these toys to turn their living room into a mini-golf course complete with clubs and obstacles. “The system continues to prove that a small number of flexible pieces opens up an infinite number of outcomes,” says Elaver.
At its core, Flexure is a product that Elaver wish he had as a student. He dropped out of engineering school despite a math bent because of the didactic, and relatively boring, way the subject was taught. He hopes to see the Kickstarter project successfully funded and to see the finished products on the shelves of museums shops and classrooms soon, though he’s open to working with partners. “If that means building a business that produces and sells the toy, or finding a company to partner with, I’m flexible.”
Joseph Flaherty writes about design, DIY, and the intersection of physical and digital products. He designs award-winning medical devices and apps for smartphones at AgaMatrix, including the first FDA-cleared medical device that connects to the iPhone.
Follow @josephflaherty on Twitter.
