Whatever else you may think of Barbie, you have to admit the little doll lives large: the endless clothes, constant parties, the oceanfront dream home in Malibu. Don't forget the pet giraffe.
Those were some of the starting points offered by the American Institute of Architects in May when it announced a competition for its members to design the Architect Barbie Dream House. The results were announced in mid-August, timed to Mattel Inc.'s introduction of the fashionista doll's next career.
Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Entries were limited to AIA members; then the public was invited to vote online among five finalists for the top design, which turned out to be co-designed by two recent grads of Harvard University's Graduate School of Design.
Ting Li and Maja Paklar collaborated to create a stacked-cube house — pink, of course — that would hug 3 acres of Malibu coast and respond to their "client's" expressed wish for a home that's environmentally sensitive.
A: It's about 4,800 square feet, and it's on a Malibu beach; that was a requirement because Barbie is a Malibu beach girl. The site selection was up to us, so we located it on a bluff overlooking the ocean. It's cantilevered over a bluff so that it takes up a small footprint: The house was supposed to be green and sustainable. That was our first thing, thinking about the site and the orientation, wondering how can we make it more sustainable?
We also thought about Barbie and who she is. She's famous for her love of fashion, so we thought it would be fun to have this giant closet in the center of the house, with a double-helix spiral (mechanically operated rack) that runs through all floors of the house with her clothes hung on it. When she's in her bedroom, her clothes come to her at the push of a button, like at a dry-cleaning place.
On the first floor she has her entertaining area, kitchen and dining room, and that area opens up downstairs to the beach. On the second floor is her library and office to accommodate her 125 professions. The library opens up to a terrace. She needed to have a big meeting room, and her office is furnished with Eames furniture. We're architects, so we had to that. That was for us.
We tried to place the terraces to take advantage of natural shading. The glass walls have operable, perforated screens, sort of a second skin, that screen out the sun. The roof is landscaped, and it has a greenhouse as well as solar panels. The landscaped roof has an irrigation system that reduces the heat-island effect.
Some of the interior features include bamboo flooring, zero-VOC paint, low-flow toilets and fixtures, and Energy Star appliances. Many of the building materials are locally manufactured.
And although she has sports cars, in our design Barbie has decided to use only her pink Vespa scooter — we were thinking about Los Angeles and all the traffic. But then we thought, what if she goes shopping, what would happen? Then we realized that her boyfriend, Ken, has his convertible, so she can call on him to pick her up.
A: Barbie has a pet giraffe, and we needed to consider that in the contest requirements. If you look at the design, there's a giraffe there, and she's as tall as the second-floor terrace. The terrace is landscaped; you know how giraffes are grazing animals, so we thought she could graze there.
A: No. But it has donated $1,000 in our names to a Philadelphia high school that's focused on architecture and design. And the AIA has asked us to build a model for its next convention, and we're talking to them about that.
A: We're not sure. I don't assume it would be more than any other house in Malibu, figuring maybe a 2 to 3 percent increase for the green features, but cheaper in the long run because of the energy savings.
A: She has glasses, with thick black frames. She has a dress that's kind of pinkish/purplish, with the New York skyline printed on it. She has a little black jacket and little black booties.
She also has a blueprint case, a little pink tube, which is kind of funny, because, you see, architects don't draw by hand any more. It's all on computers. But I guess when people think "architect," they think of blueprints, which is really funny.
Since we won the contest, we've heard from many people around the world, including a newspaper in Croatia, which is where I lived until I was 18. I've realized how so many people are interested in Barbie; she has been so influential in many girls' lives. Ting (who is from China) and I both played with Barbie when we were little.
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