The Barbie dream house — such a splendid creation, isn’t it? I know I confessed my extreme tomboy tendencies yesterday, but I also had a Barbie dream house. Mansion is a more accurate description, and I spent hours concocting elaborate storylines as Barbie, Ken and Courtney lounged in their sprawling plastic paradise.
In keeping with yesterday’s redesigned toy theme, we stumbled across this story on the Barbie dream house of the future and had to share. Designs were submitted to the American Institute of Architects’ Barbie Dream House competition, an event created to help encourage women to pursue architecture, a traditionally male-dominated field.
According to a story published in Fast Company Design, the winning house (created by recent Harvard master’s grads Ting Li and Maja Paklar) includes solar panels on the roof, a greenhouse, bamboo flooring, zero-VOC paint, EnergyStar appliances and low-flow toilets and faucets.
Sadly, the winning design will not be created and sold, which we think is a huge oversight on the part of competition organizers. Sure, it might carry a hefty price tag, but it’s an ingenious way to help teach kids about green building and sustainability.
What do you think of Barbie’s eco-friendly abode? And if you could redesign any toy, which would you choose?
Photo via Fast Company Design
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