This summer, little girls around the world will all be clamoring for the new Architect Barbie as part of the Barbie I Can Dream campaign. While there seems to be a bit of backlash as to Architect Barbie’s attire, we kinda dig her fashion sense. Why can’t architects wear pink? In conjunction with the release of the blonde bombshell career doll, the AIA has announced a design competition to design Barbie’s Green Dream Home. AIA members have until the end of June to design Barbie a home that includes sustainable design principles, room for an office, open living and dining areas, and plenty of room for her five pets – including her giraffe.
First, a couple of things you need to know about Barbie so you can design her the perfect home. Barbie loves to PLAY and have FUN. Also, even though the home is supposed to be green, make it pink. There’re also some pretty detailed guidelines as to what the home should include, so be sure to read the description. The home should reflect the best sustainable design principles and also be stylishly comfortable with a smart home office, a top of the line kitchen and tons of space to entertain.
Since Barbie is quite the fashionista, she’s gonna need a big closet to keep all of her outfits and accessories organized, not to mention a huge bathroom to get ready in. She’ll also need space for her five, count ’em, five pets and a three car garage. She’s got quite a few demands, but we should expect no less from the doll who has done it all. The contest to design Barbie’s Green Dream Home opened up on May 16th and is open for submissions until June 27th, 2010. Five AIA member finalists will be announced mid July.
“Architect” was chosen as the 2011 career of the year in hopes of inspiring more little girls to try on and explore the role. While you may not think that women need a boost into the design field, you may be surprised to learn that out of all of the AIA members, only 17% of them are female. So you can image that the AIA is pretty pumped to help encourage little girls to learn more about architecture, even if it is through an anatomically incorrect doll. Read a bit more about the decisions over Barbie’s accessories at Inhabitots.com.
