It’s that time of year again when we’re all scurrying around trying to find the perfect gifts for the important people in our lives. If you have an architect or design fanatic in your life, here are my top ten suggestions for unusual architecture gifts they’ll enjoy.
Note: These are just things I think are cool – I receive no commissions and there are no affiliate links on my blog. All prices listed are as of this writing.
This do-it-yourself kit of kirigami (it's like origami, but it also involves cutting the paper) projects features instructions for creating paper versions of 14 of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous buildings, including Falling Water and the Guggenheim Museum.
Frank Lloyd Wright Paper Models: 14 Kirigami Buildings to Cut and Fold
These sets are generally small and simple to build but create beautiful, bricky models of some of the world’s great structures. Currently available sets include skylines of major cities like New York, San Francisco and London, iconic buildings like the U.S. Capitol, the Empire State Building and the Guggenheim Museum, and landmarks like the Great Wall of China and the Statue of Liberty.
Prices range from around $30 to $120.
LEGO® Architecture Series Sets
This gorgeous book, published by design-oriented publishing house Phaidon in October 2019, features almost 400 examples of mid-century modern homes from around the world created by more than 290 architects. In addition to lush photos, each entry lists the architect, location, year built and current state of the home, and, importantly, it documents some that have been or are scheduled to be demolished.
Atlas of Mid-Century Modern Houses by Dominic Bradbury
On the whimsical (and inexpensive) side, there’s this pretty cobalt-blue coffee mug that features architectural drawings of buildings like Paris’s Notre Dame and the Pantheon. Manufactured for the Unemployed Philosopher’s Guild, the 10-oz. mug comes in a cute gift box.
Architectural Drawings Coffee Mug
These unique gifts are USA-made using traditional stained-glass techniques. The panels come in a variety of sizes with designs inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Comfort Tiffany, and other designers of the Arts and Crafts and Prairie School of design.
Prices range from $64 to $335 at ArchitectGiftsPlus
Art Glass & Stained-Glass Panels
For a practical, but still gorgeous, gift, you might select this polished steel cheese knife. Created by young Australian designer Anita Dineen, winner of the first Alessi + Vogue Living Design Award, the NYC Design Prize for homewares and the Tasmanian Design Awards People’s Choice Award, this knife’s beautiful curves and startling angles make it a work of art for your cheese board.
Alessi “Antechinus” Cheese Knife
When this book was released in October 2019, I cheered because women in architecture is a subject close to my heart. This survey of 200 buildings by groundbreaking women architects like Elizabeth Diller, Julia Morgan and Zaha Hadid is more than a typical “coffee-table-book.” Of course, there are beautiful photos, but author Jane Hall also highlights insights by the designers that encapsulate what it is to be a woman in an industry traditionally dominated by men.
Breaking Ground: Architecture by Women by Jane Hall
Speaking of the amazing Zaha Hadid, I find she’s designed one of my favorite home décor pieces of the past few years. With its simple modern lines and polished stainless-steel exterior, this 16.5-inch-tall vase is the ideal vessel for showcasing that single perfect blossom.
Alessi “Crevasse” Flower Vase by Zaha Hadid
How could any chess and design fan resist this sleek, fun set? Its molded acrylic pieces feature some of the city’s most iconic buildings like the Freedom Tower, the Chrysler Building and the Flatiron Building.
$135 for non-members, $121.50 for members at the MoMA Design Store
New York City Skyline Chess Set
This is perfect for older kids (I’d say from age 12 up) interested in design and architecture. Each two-page lesson explains in simple language and illustrations basic concepts in design, from drawing a line to the uses of positive and negative space.