6 Barbie houses that trace the evolution of North American architecture

In celebration of the Barbie doll's 60th anniversary , toymaker Mattel and architecture magazine Pin-Up have released a book celebrating Barbie's Dream Home. From contemporary influencer homes to the mid-century bungalow of the 1960s, the book is the first architectural survey of the world's best-selling dollhouse , showing how the toy's designs reflected the domestic styles and ideals of the time. Below, check out a timeline of 6 Barbie Dreamhouses , from 1962 to 2021.

1962 – Barbie’s first house

The first Barbie House was launched in 1962 – more than a decade before women could attend university or open a bank account without being co-signed by a male presence in the US. However, the fold-out cardboard house was designed to be a " Barbie bachelorette party ," complete with college paraphernalia, mid-century furniture, and—most importantly—designed without a kitchen. " She was really ahead of her time ," Mallett said. "The world they built for her was feminist, progressive, about independence."

1974 – Barbie’s Bohemian Home

Designed over three floors and six rooms, the 1974 Barbie House combines modern slab-and-column architecture reminiscent of Maison Domino —a building system developed by French-Swiss architect Le Corbusier —with more homely items, such as potted plants and stained-glass Tiffany lamps, which are outlined in its cardboard backdrop. This decor harks back to the so-called " fern bars " of the era, which incorporated cozy design touches in the hopes of attracting a new generation of single women to traditionally male establishments. Reflecting the rise of plastic furniture , the kitchen is outfitted with canary yellow chairs that merge with the sensibility of the monobloc Panton Chair.

1979 – Barbie A-frame House

One of the first to be made entirely of plastic, this Dreamhouse features a sloping roof that pays homage to the A-frame craze that swept the US in the late 60s and 70s. "The A-frame, at that point, went from being a kind of American vernacular, used for little mountain retreats, to becoming an expression of a certain kind of life ," said Felix Burrichter , the book's co-editor.

1990 – Barbie's Magical Mansion

The '90s saw the Dreamhouse shift to almost exclusively all pink , which is reflected in the floral and pastel interiors of the era courtesy of brands like Laura Ashley and Ralph Lauren Home . But the real reason for Barbie's " pinkification " has to do with marketing. "The decision to use more pink, and emphasize it, started in the late '70s because there were so many Barbie imitators. And in an effort to really distinguish Barbie in the marketplace , they decided to brand everything pink," Burrichter said. The battery-powered Magic Mansion effectively functioned as a " bourgeois housewife's kit ", complete with all cutlery and crockery, as well as a ringing telephone and a roaring log fire.

2000 – Barbie Castle

This turn-of-the-century home is a mix of modern and traditional elements , with a turret, portico, and a frilly four-poster bed next to a small flat-screen TV. "I think it has to do with the anxiety of that moment ," says journalist Whitney Mallett. "With the 2000s, there was a fear of technology and new things, so people went back to what felt safe." "With the suburban McMansion developments of the '90s and early 2000s, you have these things becoming a new kind of status symbol ," he adds.

2021 – Barbie Content House

The 2020s Dreamhouse is modeled on the content houses of Los Angeles , where influencers come together to create content for social media. Mimicking these elegant luxury condominiums , the house is the first to replicate the flat roof, with other touches such as a slide, a mobile pool and a barbecue that turns into a dessert buffet . “It has the aesthetic of a universally usable space where you can host a lot of friends or produce content,” Burrichter said. “There’s a real emphasis on fun, and if you look at what’s being produced in architecture right now, I think there are a lot of parallels.” The home is also the first Dreamhouse designed to be wheelchair accessible , reflecting the growing focus on making design and architecture more inclusive and accessible. Source: Dezeen