Categories / Architecture, Toys and Games

1930s Triangtois art deco dolls house up for auction at Boldon Auction Galleries

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Some time back, we highlighted the Lundby midcentury-style dolls houses and furniture, examples of which can often be found on eBay. But here's something that's much harder to find – a 1930s Triangtois art deco dolls house.

It's up for auction at Boldon Auction Galleries, which is in the Newcastle area. Don't worry – you can absentee bid if you want it and don't happen to be local. We suspect fans of art deco housing just might, a superb period miniature house with plenty of detail, right down to fireplaces and light fittings.

Yes, it needs a bit of work, but with a guide price of between £50 and £80, it's not a lot for something we suspect is incredibly rare. See the interior over the page, with the auction taking pace on 16th March 2011.

Find out more at the Boldon Auction Galleries website

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Categories / Architecture, Toys and Games

Lego 20th Century Architecture Sets now available in the UK

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We featured these some time back, but after a quick browse of the Lego website, we've just noticed that the Lego Architecture Sets are now available in the UK.

We mentioned two originally, but now there are four US architectural classics on the market – the Empire State Building, the Seattle Space Needle, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and last, but certainly not least, Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater construction, which is pictured above.

All are detailed replicas, all come with booklets detailing the design and the history. Just make sure you've got plenty of time to build them. An image of the Guggenheim is over the page, with prices starting at £19.99. Here's to some of the same from Lego.

Find out more at the Lego website

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Categories / Architecture, Property

For sale: 1970s modernist six-bedroomed house on Lakeside Drive, Esher, Surrey

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It might be out of reach financially for most of us, but this six-bedroomed house on Lakeside Drive, Esher, Surrey is well worth a look for its cool modernist architecture.

It was designed back in 1975  by renowned architect Royston Summers, not just in a sought-after location, but also built on the side of a lake, one of a group of 16 houses sharing this location. A location that's subject to preservation orders for both the lake and trees, as well as being a private road.

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Categories / Architecture, Property

For sale: 1950s Erno Goldfinger-designed Wellesley House property in Broadstairs, Kent

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We usually feature huge art deco, midcentury or modernist architectural masterpieces on these pages, great to look at, but pretty much always unaffordable to all of us. Well, here is a semi-detached house that's firmly in the 'affordable' bracket for more of us – but it's also an Erno Goldfinger-designed Wellesley House property in Broadstairs, Kent.

In truth, the designer and the history of the house are actually more interesting than the property, but just think…you can tell the world your home was designed by a modernist legend. How cool would that be?

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Categories / Architecture, Books

CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed book by Frédéric Chaubin

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Fans of weird and wonderful extreme, space age and brutalist architecture will no doubt love CCCP: Cosmic Communist Constructions Photographed book by Frédéric Chaubin, which is published by Taschen.

Photographer Chaubin highlights 90 buildings that were constructed from 1970 until the break-up of the Soviet Union, a diverse range of architecture that has one thing in common – all of it has the power to amaze. From a crematorium adorned with concrete flames to a summer camp inspired by sketches of a prototype lunar base and a technological institute with a flying saucer crashed on the roof, it's all here and more.

Supported by words of explanation over the 288 pages, you can 'browse' the book at the Taschen site and you can see another image over the page. It's much cheaper to buy at Amazon though, with around a third off the RRP, selling for £22.74.

Find out more about the book at the Amazon website

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Categories / Architecture, Property

For sale: 1960s six-bedroomed modernist house in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, near Paris, France

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Our search for a super-cool property has taken us to the outer suburbs of Paris, specifically to this 1960s modernist house in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, near Paris.

No mention of the architect, but we suspect this was cutting edge design for someone affluent and forward-thinking back in 1969. Indeed, fast forward 42 years and it's still cutting edge. A testament to someone's vision 'back in the day'.

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