Winner of the AIA Architect Barbie Dream House Design Competition

The winning design has been selected in the AIA Architect Barbie Dream House competition, hosted by the American Institute of Architects. The entry submitted by New York architects Ting Li, Assoc. AIA, LEED AP and Maja Paklar, Assoc. AIA, received the most public votes, out of the 8,470 votes registered.

The design competition hosted by the AIA was created as a fun way for the design community to engage with Mattel’s newest Barbie doll - I Can Be… Architect Barbie.

The winning house design features entertaining space and chef’s open kitchen on the first floor, along with an office / library / meeting space. There is also a terrace on the second floor. The third and fourth floors are Barbie doll’s private enclave, her bedroom and her inspiration room respectively. The roof has a green house and a landscaped garden for her domestic pets. The design elements include solar panels, landscaped rooftop and irrigation system, operable shading devices, bamboo flooring, low flow toilet and sink fixtures, and locally sourced and manufactured materials and furnishings.

A joint statement from Ms. Li and Ms. Paklar stated, “We are very honored to have been chosen by AIA and Mattel as a finalist and as the public favorite - Barbie was both of ours’ favorite doll growing up in China and Croatia. We appreciate the versatility of our profession which allows us to express ourselves in a myriad of ways - from entirely built city environments to a Barbie Dream House. We hope to encourage more young female architects to flex their design muscles and just to have fun with architecture.”

“The intent of the partnership with Mattel to promote the launch of Architect Barbie was to engage and inspire young girls to experience the world of architecture and the range of possibilities that design thinking offers,” said AIA President, Clark Manus, FAIA.  “We are thrilled that this initiative was so well received by the public and congratulations to the finalists and especially the winners of the design competition, Ms. Li and Ms. Paklar.  Their submissions did an excellent job of showcasing the innovative approaches that architects reflect in the design of projects of all types.”

While the architects’ submissions including the winning design, will not be produced by Mattel, the creators of the winning design will have a $1000 donation made in their name to CHAD, a charter high school in Philadelphia focused on architecture and design.

Ting Li is a young designer living and working in New York City. A recent graduate of Harvard Graduate School of Design’s MArch program and an alumnus of the University of Pennsylvania, her student work has been exhibited and published on both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Maja Paklar received her MArch Degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Design in 2009, and a Bachelor’s degree in Architecture from University of Florida, in 2006. Her award winning graduate thesis tilted "A Health Clinic in Durban: Reconfiguring the social dynamics of the unstable urban landscape" was published in multiple publications, including the Wallpaper Magazine. Subsequently, she was one of the students featured in 2010 Wallpaper Graduate Directory.

Project Description from the Architects:

Barbie’s dream house is the quintessential Malibu beach house; it is modern, functional, spacious, fun and most of all sustainable.

Naturally the newly minted Architect Barbie took on the task of designing her own dream house. She is creative, fashionable, busy and powerful. She has gone through years of training to become a leading figure in her field. She is LEED AP and a member of the AIA. Although she is an internationally renowned globe trotter, when not traveling she loves to look smart, entertain her potential clients, and come up with innovative ideas in her high tech, low energy consumption home.

The concept of this house reflects exactly who Barbie is in her new profession. She has pledged to build an environmentally sustainable home using the principals set forth by USGBC as well as to stay true to all the needs of a classic California girl!

The house is situated on a bluff overlooking the Paciffic Ocean. The entrance faces north-west and the main body of the building has a panoramic view of the ocean. Distinct building programs are speciffic to each floor, connected by a center core of spiral stairs. The stairs rise around a hollow tube , which becomes Barbie’s tower closet. Since Barbie is the original fashionista, she inevitabily accumulated a large volume of enviable designer labels. This computer controlled closet allows for the clothes to be displayed and visible from every angle of the house. It also makes dressing easy: she can select her outfit, push a button, and the outfit is delivered to her bedrom via the double helix moving rack.

The house fetures 1500sf of entertaining space and chef’s open kitchen on the first floor. A Steven Jobs approved office / library / meeting space as well as 500sf of terrace on the second floor. The third and fourth floors are Barbie’s private enclave, her bedroom and her inspiration room respectively. The roof has a green house and a landscaped garden for her domestic pets.

As a LEED AP, Barbie is on a mission to set an example to be sustainable wherever she can. Her house proudly utilizes solar panels, operable shading devices, low flow bathroom fixtures, energy saving light fixtures, and efficient HVAC equipment. The house occupies minimum footprint as it cantilevers over a bluff, she landscapes her yard, roof and terraces for cooling and visual effects. In order to reduce CO2 emission, Barbie opts to ride her Pink Vespa around town instead, and if she needs to haul her shopping bags, Ken is never far behind in his convertible.

Project Details:

Location: Malibu, CA
Lot size: 3 Acres
Property description: Ocean and Mountain views on all sides
Size: 4881 sq ft living space / 2003 sq ft outdoor terrace