The Spiral Dollhouse is a hybrid between a 1/6 scale version of an imaginary house, an architectural model, and a barbie doll diorama. You can view the three storied house and play with it from all four sides.
The house is made in a 1/6 scale, like that of a Barbie doll. However because it the house has actually been designed for Barbie dolls, the proportions had to be tweaked. The plan and the elevation are treated differently. In comparison with the height, the width and length are relatively narrow at a scale of about 1/13. Those dimensions are based on the slim, elongated figure of a Barbie doll, whose waist is only 45 per cent of that of an average woman.
The materials of the house are birch ply, teak wood, rose wood, acrylic and brass. The light fittings and furniture such as the tables, beds, kitchen, vanity, stools and a swing including working miniature switches, were custom made.
A central cross shaped core defines the dollhouse structurally. The double wall hide the electrical conduits. Openings in the walls of the main cruciform create visual openings between rooms. The walls hold pocket doors that slide open and closed. Some doors are opaque. Others are made of translucent rice paper or timber slats that let light shine through. It was really important to consider the hand that would enter the little house to move the doll around.
Spiral
The rooms are organised in a spiral. They turn around the central core, starting with a garage for the mini Cooper. The route ends with a roof top pool terrace, creating a narrative for play. Voids in the floors and openings in the core encourage interaction and play in between the rooms, vertically, horizontally and diagonally.
The house is conceived as an architectural project. While it is slightly less complex, the process and discussions with the makes have been like those for a real building.
