America, 1962 The list of things women could not legally do was disproportionately long compared to what they were allowed to do. They could not open accounts, file title deeds in their own names, vote under their maiden names if they were married, make decisions about their lives and bodies, or practice law. And here, the blonde, tall woman from Wisconsin seems to stick her tongue out at the restrictions. In 1962, Barbie gets her first home a few miles from her birthplace.

Barbie dream house. An Architectural Review (152 pages), published by the architectural magazine Pin Up, tells about photographs, architectural plans, floor plans and interviews with designers and historians, about the constant movements of the doll over these 60 years. Each Mattel apartment, ranch, maisonette and tower reflects the social imperatives of each era, as well as developments in architecture and design.

“Barbie’s first home can be seen as a statement of independence,” report Felix Buriter and Whitney Mallett.

From the Victorian era to the early 1960s, all dollhouses were aimed at the nuclear family, but Barbie is single, and her personal space is that of an liberated young woman. “The idea of ​​celibacy as a housing model has not been sufficiently explored in architecture,” says Beatrice Kolomina, curator, theorist and professor of architectural history at Princeton University. However, he kept pace with the modern movement: Le Corbusier and Pierre Genret already in 1925 designed a model of a residence inspired by monastic cells. They were followed by others such as Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra, Eileen Grey.

Made entirely of cardboard and foldable, Mattel’s first dollhouse is about the size of a standard medical bag when closed. With one movement, we “penetrate” into her personal space. According to Felix Buriter and Whitney Mallet, authors of the striking edition, the symbolism of the design is clear. That same year, Americans got their first glimpse of the inside of the White House thanks to a television show that chronicled the renovations carried out by the Kennedys. The concept of personal space immediately becomes more fluid. “Barbie’s first home can be seen as a statement of independence,” they continue. Pink is completely absent, the house has a large wardrobe, many books on the shelves, pennants from her college team hang on the walls (Barbie has a bachelor’s degree), furniture with clear lines, evoking the aesthetics of Florence Knoll or Charles and Ray Eames (this wonderful couple of industrial designers actually designed a dollhouse in 1959 that didn’t differ much from Mattel’s house).

The Barbie house in this and several subsequent versions also has a single narrow bed. Ken has been in the life of the famous blonde since 1961, his photo adorns her bookcase, but it is more than clear that the charming young man sleeps at night in a different place. What else is different about this dream house? What makes it so revolutionary in its concept and design? What absence is believed to lead to a long period of great social change? It does not have a kitchen. In all dollhouses, the kitchen is always well maintained, with lots of details and colors to make it attractive to little girls. They must be inspired and early adopt the habits of a good housewife. But Barbie is active. She is a doctor, architect, pilot, Olympic athlete, astronaut. He doesn’t have time to hunch over cookbooks.

Throwback to the 90s and bohemian chic for a new age

The kitchen was added in the mid 1970s. Barbie has a choice, she can cook if she wants, she can do whatever she wants. Her new home is a tribute to Dom-Ino, a modular building system inspired by Le Corbusier in 1914 as a possible solution for post-World War I urban housing. However, in terms of interior design, the three-story residence with six separate rooms and a swimming pool is fully consistent with its era. Psychedelic pink and orange patterns on the floor are paired with a turntable that could have been designed by Dieter Rams and seats that are reminiscent of the Cheska chair by Hungarian modernist architect Marcel Breuer and the polypropylene chair of Werner Panton.

Saying goodbye to the decade (1979), Barbie takes another step back to lower building heights. Her house now resembles a typical American two-story house with a tiled roof. Gone were the printed wallpapers that hinted at the use of each space. The concept of spaces and furniture that adapt to any need, and first discussed by George Nelson and Henry Wright in their influential 1945 book The House of Tomorrow, finds perfect application here. The impact that the world of Barbie has on pop culture is also evident. Mattel’s creative team doesn’t just copy trends, they dictate them. Example; Chris Monroe’s country house in Malibu from the popular “Charlie’s Angels” could become a home for Barbie herself. The two residences are strikingly similar.

It’s 1990 and Barbie is enjoying glamor in all its glory. She set up her opulent wardrobe at the Magic Mansion, a mansion with Victorian architectural elements painted pink inside and out and resting on sofas with floral cushions (a clear influence from Laura Ashley and Ralph Lauren Home). Incredibly cute, it is this house that even today fetches the highest sums at auctions, with an average price of up to $4,000.

Equally heartbreaking due to its strong start is the castle where we find a 41-year-old Barbie at the turn of the century. One would expect her to adopt the principle of abstraction both in her choice of clothing and in her space. Her residence resembles a 19th-century mansion, there is no TV or computer, and the furniture – with the exception of Philippe Starck’s “ghost chair” – is rather old-fashioned. However, this residence of 2000 is important and often mentioned by collectors in their conversations, because for the first time on the second floor we see a double bed with a canopy and a cot on the side. Will Barbie have a baby? No, the crib is designed to keep her sister’s baby comfortable when she arrives.

“In 2010, the question was acute: how to return to modernism? How do we bring back clean lines, drawing on the design that existed in the real world, discarding the overly or overly feminine elements that were in earlier versions of Dreamhouse?” explains Kim Kalmon, senior designer at Mattel.

In the 2021 version, Barbie seems to have put her boring past behind her. She’s ditched gold-plated dinnerware, consulting TikTok and Instagram to spruce up her personal space, and her home is full of expensive designer pieces. Her elevator also accommodates her wheelchair, the new age has no exceptions. Even from the layout, it’s clear that she’s working, exercising and having fun here (references to the new life codes imposed by the pandemic), and has now chosen bohemian chic as her style. Sometimes you have to go through 60 years to find yourself.

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