This dollhouse is inspired by female design pioneers of the 20th century

Architect Marialaura Irvine has created a dollhouse, inspired by some of the great masters of the past, to display a tactile range of paints by Italian surface specialist Matteo Brioni.

The 14-room dollhouse is based on a modular design, and pays homage to female pioneers from the 20th century who established new ideas and approaches in architecture, design and art. Each room is inspired by a different creator, among them Georgia O'Keeffe, Eileen Gray, Cini Boeri, Charlotte Perriand, Ray Eames, Nanda Vigo, Gae Aulenti, Clara Porset, Lina Bo Bardi, Franca Helg, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Annie Albers, Ruth Asawa, and Lilly Reich. 

'Through their groundbreaking contributions, these women have played a crucial role in shaping the narrative of modern design and architecture, and their impact continues to inspire and shape contemporary practices,' says Irvine.

The modular dollhouse is a testament to Irvine's sensibility to colour and material, a well-considered approach that can be seen throughout the Milanese designer's portfolio of products and interiors. 

The collaboration, Paints According to Irvine, follows a previous project, Earth According to Matteo, for which Irvine undertook the art direction in 2018. While the previous project demonstrated the brand's natural clay finishes, this new endeavour looks at colour to define a space. 

Irvine and Brioni began working together in 2013, and for a decade they 'delved into the power of natural colours to dictate the perception of space and return to architecture its most transcendent virtue – the capacity to inspire’.

The new project is inspired by Irvine's own experience playing with dollhouses growing up, and is influenced by her admiration of the masters of modern architecture, from Peter Behrens to Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier. '[My reflections] took a turn when the question "And the women?" arose,' notes Irvine. This resulted in an exploration of the female pioneers of 20th-century creativity, to which Irvine dedicated the rooms of her dollhouse design with subtle details that nod to each creative's work.

Each room is infused with a distinct identity, from the pink living space dedicated to Georgia O'Keefe to the red kitchen that nods to Eileen Gray's architectural compositions and the liminal space featuring artworks referencing Ruth Asawa's pieces. 

'Each room, each colour evokes a different sensibility and a unique experience, a testament to the transformative power of colour and design,' adds Irvine. 'It’s a celebration of the beauty of imperfection, the three-dimensionality of powder paint, and the ability of natural pigments to transform into magnificent surfaces.'

matteobrioni.com
studio-irvine.com