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Architecture

Small but perfectly formed: Architects and designers create dollhouses for charity

By Adam Williams
October 15, 2013
Small but perfectly formed: Architects and designers create dollhouses for charity
Compass House, by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, is a weekend retreat designed for children with visual impairment (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Compass House, by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, is a weekend retreat designed for children with visual impairment (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Compass House, by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, is a weekend retreat designed for children with visual impairment (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Compass House, by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, is a weekend retreat designed for children with visual impairment (Photo: Thomas Butler)
The Grimm’s House, by James Ramsey Raad Studio, is a dollhouse-cum-illustrated fairytale book for blind children, featuring the story of Hansel and Gretel written in braille(Photo: Thomas Butler)
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The Grimm’s House, by James Ramsey Raad Studio, is a dollhouse-cum-illustrated fairytale book for blind children, featuring the story of Hansel and Gretel written in braille(Photo: Thomas Butler)
Electra House, by Adjaye Associates, is a flexible home designed to be accessible to all and features extensive use of light for sensory stimulation (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Electra House, by Adjaye Associates, is a flexible home designed to be accessible to all and features extensive use of light for sensory stimulation (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Electra House, by Adjaye Associates, is a flexible home designed to be accessible to all and features extensive use of light for sensory stimulation (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Electra House, by Adjaye Associates, is a flexible home designed to be accessible to all and features extensive use of light for sensory stimulation (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Elvis’s Tree House, by AMODELS, is based on a real Southampton playground, and features the mysterious inclusion of a miniature Elvis Presley figure with pink Cadillac (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Elvis’s Tree House, by AMODELS, is based on a real Southampton playground, and features the mysterious inclusion of a miniature Elvis Presley figure with pink Cadillac (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Elvis’s Tree House, by AMODELS, is based on a real Southampton playground, and features the mysterious inclusion of a miniature Elvis Presley figure with pink Cadillac (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Elvis’s Tree House, by AMODELS, is based on a real Southampton playground, and features the mysterious inclusion of a miniature Elvis Presley figure with pink Cadillac (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Inside Out, by Coffey Architecture, is an inclusive dolls' house with bonsai tree and herb garden (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Inside Out, by Coffey Architecture, is an inclusive dolls' house with bonsai tree and herb garden (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Inside Out, by Coffey Architecture, is an inclusive dolls' house with bonsai tree and herb garden(Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Inside Out, by Coffey Architecture, is an inclusive dolls' house with bonsai tree and herb garden(Photo: Thomas Butler)
A dolls’ house made of three-sided rooms, by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, is designed for children with sight and sensory loss, and it reacts to movement (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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A dolls’ house made of three-sided rooms, by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, is designed for children with sight and sensory loss, and it reacts to movement (Photo: Thomas Butler)
A dolls’ house made of three-sided rooms, by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, is designed for children with sight and sensory loss, and it reacts to movement (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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A dolls’ house made of three-sided rooms, by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, is designed for children with sight and sensory loss, and it reacts to movement (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Haptic House, by Dexter Moran stimulates the primary senses (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Haptic House, by Dexter Moran stimulates the primary senses (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Play House, by DRDH Architects, is a toy theatre which features working scenery lifts and curtains in the fly tower, making all floors accessible to its actors and audience (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Play House, by DRDH Architects, is a toy theatre which features working scenery lifts and curtains in the fly tower, making all floors accessible to its actors and audience (Photo: Thomas Butler)
House for a Deaf Child, by DRMM, features adjustable pieces to allow the child to show color expression on the outside (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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House for a Deaf Child, by DRMM, features adjustable pieces to allow the child to show color expression on the outside (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Multi-story, by Duggan Morris Architects, is designed to aid early intervention strategies for children with developmental disability Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Multi-story, by Duggan Morris Architects, is designed to aid early intervention strategies for children with developmental disability Autistic Spectrum Disorder (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Tower of Fable, by FAT Architecture, is a toy-sized remake of the Balfron Tower (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Tower of Fable, by FAT Architecture, is a toy-sized remake of the Balfron Tower (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Guy Holloway's "Jack in the Box," after being inflated (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Guy Holloway's "Jack in the Box," after being inflated (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Guy Holloway's "Jack in the Box dollhouse" (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Guy Holloway's "Jack in the Box dollhouse" (Photo: Thomas Butler)
This must be the place, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a puzzle offering many possibilities to play and experiment in creating an endless variety of unique compositions (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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This must be the place, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a puzzle offering many possibilities to play and experiment in creating an endless variety of unique compositions (Photo: Thomas Butler)
This must be the place, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a puzzle offering many possibilities to play and experiment in creating an endless variety of unique compositions (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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This must be the place, by Zaha Hadid Architects, is a puzzle offering many possibilities to play and experiment in creating an endless variety of unique compositions (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Sound [Play]ce, by HLM, is an interactive tower creates sounds with a marble, stimulating the play of visually impaired children (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Sound [Play]ce, by HLM, is an interactive tower creates sounds with a marble, stimulating the play of visually impaired children (Photo: Thomas Butler)
The Extra-Ordinary House, by Glenn Howells Architects, is an ordinary terraced house, but built from wood in order to enable a child with impaired sight to enjoy its touch (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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The Extra-Ordinary House, by Glenn Howells Architects, is an ordinary terraced house, but built from wood in order to enable a child with impaired sight to enjoy its touch (Photo: Thomas Butler)
The Extra-Ordinary House, by Glenn Howells Architects, is an ordinary terraced house, but built from wood in order to enable a child with impaired sight to enjoy its touch (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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The Extra-Ordinary House, by Glenn Howells Architects, is an ordinary terraced house, but built from wood in order to enable a child with impaired sight to enjoy its touch (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Puzzle House, by Studio Egret West, is a house that folds into a rectangular box, and contains a stair of mirrors, a ladder, and other features to stimulate play (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Puzzle House, by Studio Egret West, is a house that folds into a rectangular box, and contains a stair of mirrors, a ladder, and other features to stimulate play (Photo: Thomas Butler)
mae-mak house, by Mae, sports brightly coloured and textured panels designed to stimulate the senses and inspire customisation (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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mae-mak house, by Mae, sports brightly coloured and textured panels designed to stimulate the senses and inspire customisation (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Jigsaw House, by Make Architects, is inspired by a jigsaw puzzle (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Jigsaw House, by Make Architects, is inspired by a jigsaw puzzle (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Jigsaw House, by Make Architects, is inspired by a jigsaw puzzle (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Jigsaw House, by Make Architects, is inspired by a jigsaw puzzle (Photo: Thomas Butler)
On a giant coral, far away, by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan, imagines a fantasy house in the sea (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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On a giant coral, far away, by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan, imagines a fantasy house in the sea (Photo: Thomas Butler)
On a giant coral, far away, by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan, imagines a fantasy house in the sea (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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On a giant coral, far away, by Morag Myerscough and Luke Morgan, imagines a fantasy house in the sea (Photo: Thomas Butler)
The Grimm’s House, by James Ramsey Raad Studio, is a dollhouse-cum-illustrated fairytale book for blind children, featuring the story of Hansel and Gretel written in braille (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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The Grimm’s House, by James Ramsey Raad Studio, is a dollhouse-cum-illustrated fairytale book for blind children, featuring the story of Hansel and Gretel written in braille (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Outside/In, by SHEDKM, is a collection of exterior-like spaces that celebrate the sensory experience of being in the landscape (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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Outside/In, by SHEDKM, is a collection of exterior-like spaces that celebrate the sensory experience of being in the landscape (Photo: Thomas Butler)
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A total of 20 well-known architects and designers, including Zaha Hadid, Guy Holloway, and FAT Architecture, were recently tasked with producing a unique dollhouse each for UK charity KIDS. Each of the diminutive houses is set upon a plinth measuring 75 x 75 cm (30 x 30 in), and is meant to sport a unique feature to make life easier for children with disabilities.

The designs stray slightly from this remit on occasion, but the results are superb, such as Jack in a Box by Guy Holloway, which hides an inflatable structure within an unassuming dollhouse.

Guy Holloway's "Jack in the Box," after being inflated (Photo: Thomas Butler)
Guy Holloway's "Jack in the Box," after being inflated (Photo: Thomas Butler)

The Grimm’s House, by James Ramsey Raad Studio, is a dollhouse-cum-illustrated fairytale book for blind children, featuring the story of Hansel and Gretel written in braille, and another notable highlight is A dolls’ house made of three-sided rooms, by Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands. This latter example is designed for children with sight and sensory loss, and boasts rooms that react to movement and respond to touch.

A Dolls' House is curated by UK property developers Cathedral Group, and a selection of the 20 dollhouses are currently on display at Senator, London. On November 11, all the dollhouses will be made available for auction at Bonhams, in London, in aid of KIDS. The charity supports disabled children, young people, and their parents.

Source: A Dolls' House

View gallery - 30 images

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ArchitectureDisabilityToysAuctionLondonChildrenCharity
2 comments
Adam Williams
Adam Williams
Adam scours the globe from his home in Spain in order to bring the best of innovative architecture and sustainable design to the pages of New Atlas. Most of his spare time is spent dabbling in music, tinkering with old Macintosh computers and trying to keep his even older VW bus on the road.

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2 comments
Claus von Eyben
Awsomeness!
Great idea and great cause.
Why not have the same architects or others do houses og creations for this charity - where the medium is LEGO:
http://creationsforcharity.org/
Judysh
I am on my city's Access Advisory Committee, and I would love to see these dollhouses here for children to play and have fun. It is too bad that I am only seeing this article so many months after it was published.