**SEE STORY UPDATE BELOW**
Author Despina Stratigakos may not have won her campaign for Architect Barbie in Mattell’s “I Can Be” contest. But she is picking up some serious credit, including an appearance on Architect Magazine’s website, for her role in encouraging females to think of themselves as architect material.
“Discussions about diversity in architecture have been growing and developing, but I think there’s a long way to go. I want to see how I can push those further,” Stratigakos recently told the UB Reporter.
-Read Stratigakos’ February feature in Buffalo News.
-Click here for information about a 2007 exhibit Stratigakos curated in support of an Architect Barbie (the above photo was taken from the exhibit’s brochure).
Despina Stratigakos is author of A Women’s Berlin: Building the Modern City.
UPDATE: (5/11/11) After 10 years, Architect Barbie is now a reality.
(5/14/11) – Doll hits stores in August 2011; Mattell agrees to make Architect Barbie its 2011 Career of the Year doll.
(5/16/11) – The American Institute of Architects is launching a Dream House contest in honor of Architect Barbie.
I’ve been following the latest comments about Architect Barbie. As a woman designer of blocks/construction sets I am interested in the role of gender and block play. I wonder if more girls would want to be architects if they played with blocks and construction sets. Check my blog for further comments on this provocative subject