When architect Barbie was introduced as Mattel’s Career of the Year for 2011 during the American Institute of Architects (AIA) National Convention in New Orleans, it elicited both positive and negative reactions from the industry.
I recently took this doll on a trip to Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin and used the adventure to share ideas and information about some of the Organic Architecture Principles of Frank Lloyd Wright. In Chicago, the place where he started developing a distinct American form of architecture, it was where the Prairie Style was born. He lived in the Oak Park neighborhood. This place was the backdrop in the novel, Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, that told the illicit love affair between the celebrated architect and Mamah Borthwick.
The novel and the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio share two themes about architect Barbie, namely women’s independence and that of architecture. Read on about lessons learned from her tour of the home and studio. Her adventures were chronicled by Chicago photographer Elizabeth Melas.
A brunette architect Barbie visited the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio in Oak Park. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Architect Barbie contemplates about the
"destruction of the box" right by the window that demonstrates it.
(image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
She basks in the beauty of the plants that
surround the exterior as the sun casts an interplay of shade and shadow
on the sculptured pottery. This is not a tan she is sporting as a result
of some sunshine. Architect Barbie now comes as a brunette, too. (image
credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Frank Lloyd Wright incorporated classical
details within the design of the interiors. The rooms were also flanked
by sculptures that add accent to the spaces. (image credit: Elizabeth
Melas)
Philosophies and principles about design, often
engraved as quotations on walls, give verbal and visual meaning to the
space. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
The color scheme within Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Oak Park were characterized by earth tones. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Interplay of visual framing highlights spaces and add character to its volume. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Destruction of the box, as experienced from the
interior. The idea behind this concept is to push the windows out.
(image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Architect Barbie strikes a pose next to one of the toys displayed in the children's bedroom.
(image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Architect Barbie rests on the bed. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
She dreams of having a dress designed by Frank
Lloyd Wright, as she sat next to Mrs Wright's sewing machine. Frank
Lloyd Wright was known for designing even the dresses of his clients so
they complement the interior spaces. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Frank Lloyd Wright incorporated the "compression
and release" concept in his spaces. "This theory deals with how we
psychologically handle the feeling of enclosure. When you enter a
building or stand under a low ceiling you often feel trapped. When you
move into an open space with the sky above you will feel a tremendous
weight has been lifted." (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Another demonstration of the destruction of the
box. Architect Barbie also learns of the stained glass window patterns
of Frank Lloyd Wright. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
She poses behind a mural in one of the rooms.
The painting on some of the walls at the Home and Studio were done by
artist Orlando Berlini. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Remarkable detail in the house. A tree was
allowed to literally grown inside the house, instead of cutting it down.
A demonstration of respect for nature. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
"The hearth is the psychological center of the home." - Frank Lloyd Wright (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
"Marion Mahony went to work in the Chicago
studio of Frank Lloyd Wright, designing buildings, furniture, stained
glass windows and decorative panels.[3] She would be associated with
Wright's studio for almost fifteen years and was an important
contributor to his reputation, particularly for the influential Wasmuth
Portfolio, for which Mahony created more than half of the numerous
renderings." - Wikipedia (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Architect Barbie sits by the drafting tables
where Marion Mahony, one of the first licenced female architects in the
world, worked as an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright. (image credit:
Elizabeth Melas)
Architect Barbie analyzes the scale model of the Robie House. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
A vintage typewriter--yes there were no computers during Frank Lloyd Wright's time. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
Frank Lloyd Wright was 21 years old when he
started building his home and studio, financing it from the $5k loan he
took from Adler & Sullivan. (image credit: Elizabeth Melas)
"Most of the sculptures on the exterior of the
Home and Studio were designed by Wright's friend and collaborator,
Richard Bock. These include the two boulder figures flanking the
entrance of the studio, which features a man crouching and breaking free
from the ground beneath him. Bock also designed the stork capitals on
the exterior loggia of the studio. The capitals signifies the tree of
life, the book of knowledge, an architectural scroll, and two storks
full of wisdom and fertility." - Wikipedia (image credit: Elizabeth
Melas)
The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust's
mission is to engage, educate and inspire the public through
architecture, design and the legacy of Frank Lloyd Wright, and to
preserve the Trust's historic sites and collections.
Elizabeth Melas has been an accomplished
photographer for more than two decades. She has had exhibitions of her
work in Chicago, New York, and Paris. Early in her photography career,
she developed a new technique using infrared film. She was selected as a
fellow to The International Women's Forum Leadership Foundation, a
prestigious award granted to professional women who have established
themselves in their chosen field. Her work is currently part of the a.DOT Architects Doing Other Things retrospective during Chicago Artist Month, running from October 6th - 29th.
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