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See Barbie’s Dreamhouse Redesigned by 10 Starchitects

July 27, 2023
By Marina P. Asins and Belén Afonso
Translated and Adapted by Jhon Newton

AI gives an idea of what Frank Lloyd Wright, Zaha Hadid, Le Corbusier, and others would create if asked to design a house for the most famous doll in the world

Barbara Millicent Roberts, originally from the small—and fictional—town of Willows, Wisconsin, was introduced to the world in 1959. Better known by her nickname, Barbie, after graduating from Willows High School, one of the greatest pop icons of all time set off to live her own independent life in 1962. The young blonde doll, created by the American toy company Mattel, was destined to live forever at age 19. In 1962, she got a home of her own when the original Barbie Dreamhouse debuted.
In the book Barbie Dreamhouse: An Architectural Survey, by Mattel Creations, it’s possible to see a snapshot of the original house, made entirely of cardboard, with yellow walls, a single bed, and college pennants as decoration. From the very beginning, Barbie was determined to live independently, and her home reflected her desire for freedom. Her pursuit of an independent life is even more noteworthy when considered in the context of her time.

Zaha Hadid

According to the Stable Diffusion AI software, Zaha Hadid’s Barbie house would be a sinuous, white, and luminous construction.
The celebrated architect Zaha Hadid, born and raised in Iraq, had one of those minds for whom nothing was impossible. “I don’t have a style, rather I try to be always on the frontier of innovation, trying to invent everything. It took me a long time to review and rethink typology, archaeology, and styles, and then learn to reach the level of complexity and then build on that special diversity,” she once told AD Spain during an interview at her London home. The Barbie home inspired by Hadid is a sculptural construction, in which a dynamic and powerful curve plays a starring role. According to the AI software, the Barbie house that Hadid would have built would include this unmistakable signature element, and also be characterized by a precise neatness broken only by a few touches of pink—at the client’s request, of course.

Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright, on the other hand, would create a house integrated into its natural environment.
Frank Lloyd Wright was one of the leading figures in architecture in the 20th century. He despised buildings that plagiarized from Europe and he had only one God: Nature, which he always wrote with a capital N. With these premises he created horizontal houses and other buildings, with low ceilings and organic forms. They were integrated into their environments and characterized by fluid interiors. According to AI, Fallingwater would have been a fundamental inspiration for Barbie’s house. With the vegetation and the environment playing key roles in the project, the residence mixes materials like brick with a play of superimposed volumes.

Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Niemeyer’s design would be based on the power of curves. 
From his office on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, where the Brazilian architect went into exile after a military coup in his homeland, Niemeyer explored a tropical version of rationalism, combining concrete and glass softened by his mastery of organic forms. This would be precisely the house that Barbara Millicent Roberts would have commissioned from him and which we can imagine amid the prairies of Wisconsin: a modern, bright, and sinuous building in which the furniture plays a fundamental role.

Le Corbusier

Le Corbusier, however, would build his design around a bold use of color and right angles. 
 Le Corbusier’s influence was already apparent in the 1974 Barbie Townhouse, and his proposed design here is also distinguished by his use of color and right angles.

Santiago Calatrava

In this Calatrava-inspired design, it is possible to see references to previous projects, like the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.
“For me, the strict separation of art and architecture is merely a consequence of the 20th century and the functionalism that prevailed after World War II, which gave rise to the doctrine of ‘form follows function.’ But it is much more than that. And, of course, there is a kinship between sculpture and architecture,” Santiago Calatrava once said when asked about the relationship between art and architecture. In his designs, he often made the sources of his inspiration obvious. Like the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Barbie’s house incorporates marine-themed shapes and angles that evoke a cabin on a ship.

Frank Gehry

The Frank Gehry house also has elements from previous designs like the Hotel Marqués de Riscal in Spain’s Rioja region and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.
Frank Gehry would use curved forms in a different way, covering the façade with metallic plates in a light purple tone. In fact, the AI model evokes the Hotel Marqués de Riscal in La Rioja.

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe 

“Less is more.” Mies van der Rohe’s mantra is reflected in the sober, uncluttered mansion, far removed from the style choices we might associate with the popular doll.
The greatest German representative of Rationalism and the last director of the Bauhaus School, Mies was the son of a stonemason, the source in part of his respect for noble materials and precise, refined visual perfection. It is not surprising, therefore, that the AI design inspired by his work has only a few elements—albeit very well-curated ones—and rejects the use of pink while opting instead for the sobriety of more natural tones. 

Luis Barragán

“My work is autobiographical. I have tried to adapt the needs of modern life to the magic and melancholy of the past,” Luis Barragán said of his approach to architecture.
In Barragán’s design, the strong influence of Mediterranean architecture is evident through references to nature, water, and low, horizontal volumes. Like many of his buildings, the house combines modernity, tradition, and a fearless embrace of color.

Tadao Ando

For Tadao Ando, winner of architecture’s four most prestigious prizes—the Pritzker, the Carlsberg, the Praemium Imperiale, and the Kyoto—simplicity is the best way to achieve emotional force.
For many, Tadao Ando is synonymous with a contemporary vision of simplicity as he combines concrete, water, light, and natural forms in ways that few other architects can. Deeply influenced by Le Corbusier, Ando is distinguished by his desire to create a sense of calm and emotion in his spaces. In his buildings, it is possible to enjoy a visual minimalism that also manages to generate a sense of awe through the atmospheres of the different spaces. As with the Mies van der Rohe design, the Barbie house he would have created according to AI is far removed from the aesthetic references we associate with the doll. 

Lina Bo Bardi

An Italian living in Brazil, Lina Bo Bardi is known for her pursuit of a humanism in which rationalism is linked to emotionality.
The Lina Bo Bardi house surprises us with the architect’s signature intelligence that is at the heart of all of her designs. The powerful mix of colors recalls the São Paulo Museum of Art.
This article is originally available in www.architecturaldigest.com