Designer Nina Tolstrup has positioned three immersive pavilions inspired by Barbie Dreamhouses and Palm Springs’ mid-century modern architecture on the Strand as part of the London Design Festival.
Tolstrup, co-founder of London-based design studio Studiomama, worked with Barbie creators Mattel and tourism agency Visit Greater Palm Springs to create the installation, titled Pavilions of Wonder.
“The theme of the London Design Festival (LDF) this year is play. Initially we were thinking of a funfair,” Tolstrup told Dezeen of the installation, currently on display as part of the LDF. “Ultimately we went to Palm Springs and looked at the amazing houses there.”
Pavilions of Wonder celebrates the playful design of Barbie Dreamhouses, while referencing the desert modernism of mid-century modern architecture in Palm Springs, California. This year marks Barbie’s 65th anniversary.
“The pavilions are arranged harmoniously on the Strand,” the designer said. “We used our little traffic cones very early on and marked everything out so we knew exactly what the pavilions would look like, where they would be in the space, and how it would work at scale.”
The first pavilion, Dream: Infinity Garden, is the largest of the three, measuring five meters in diameter and three and a half meters high. According to Tolstrup, “the others are in this footprint, but in different forms.”
Inspired by the oasis landscape of Palm Springs and the resort’s surrounding mountain range, Tolstrup designed the first pavilion as a 360-degree circular structure that is mirrored inside with a cactus garden reflected in the mirrors.
Its rounded façade with inverted arches is partly inspired by bank buildings in the Palm Springs area, notably the Coachella Valley Savings & Loan Bank designed by local architect E Stewart Williams.
“The climate is very close to that outdoor living environment that you get when you’re there,” the designer said. “It’s all on top of the mountains: the cactus gardens and an incredible sunrise and sunset. We wanted to bring that to the Strand.”
The pavilion was built by construction company Cloud & Horse from commercially available corrugated MDF panels, which can be flat-packed into sections and reused after dismantling, without the need for cutting. A water-based pink paint was applied to one side of the material.
According to Tolstrup, Swiss architect Albert Frey’s second home in Palm Springs, the Frey House II, inspired this more sustainable and cost-effective way of building.
To discover: Design Stories, the second pavilion, was built with CNC-cut plywood held by legs by a metal scaffolding grid system that can also be dismantled.
A play on shapes, this structure combines elements of geometric signage commonly found in the Palm Springs area with aspects of straight, often square, swimming pools. These elements are commonly associated with mid-century architecture and the designs of Barbie Dreamhouses dating back to 1962.
“This pavilion is shaped like a snake and its roof is covered with mirrors,” Tolstrup explains. “There are peepholes, windows that look into Barbie’s world and where you can look in and discover.”
Mattel provided the design team with vignettes of Barbie Dreamhouse sets to illustrate the peepholes. Each of the structure’s openings features real Barbie dolls from throughout the story.
The third pavilion, Reflect: Playful Pauses, was inspired by the Palm Springs City Hall and the Tramway Service Station, also designed by Frey.
Known for its distinctive hyperbolic paraboloid canopy, the gas station has been referenced in previous Barbie Dreamhouses which incorporated similar overhanging roofs.
Built as a “very simple metal grid,” the pavilion has a pointed roof and ornamental kaleidoscopic round circles made of painted drainage tubes.
“The idea that your view is distorted or changing and reflected as you walk around, that’s an effect that’s used on the facade of City Hall,” Tolstrup said. “The qualities of mid-century architecture in Palm Springs is this wonderful simplicity.”
The three structures will be illuminated at night, offering a colorful intervention to arouse the curiosity of pedestrians in the neighborhood.
“A location this central in London is going to generate a lot of traffic,” Tolstrup said. “The installation is not a theme park, but it is still inspired by this idea of play. You can walk around and have different experiences. It has to be interactive and colourful.”
Other LDF events and installations include a showcase of modular furniture and an exhibition and auction of designer and artist eyewear.
Photography is by London Design Festival unless otherwise stated.
Pavilions of Wonder runs from 14 to 22 September as part of the London Design Festival. Visit Dezeen’s events guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events happening around the world.
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