Barbie^TM, one of the world’s most famous blondes, celebrated her 50th birthday this past Monday. To commemorate the anniversary of her debut, Mattel® opened the world’s first store dedicated to the doll on March 6 in Shanghai. In addition to offering all things Barbie, the store’s exterior façade features a unique display of glass.Mattel’s Richard Dickson, senior vice president and general manager of the Barbie brand and the visionary behind the store, turned to BIG, the strategic branding and design division of Ogilvy & Mather, to help develop the creative concept. The New York-based architectural firm Slade Architecture was selected from BIG’s short list of more than 20 contenders to design the store in an existing building. Slade’s work included the exterior, interior, fixtures and furnishings.

“The House of Barbie experience begins across the street” was one of the conceptual ideas Mattel and BIG established as a core principle. To this end, Slade created an entirely new façade for the building. Combining references to product packaging, decorative arts and architectural iconography, they created a modern, sleek identity for the store. (CLICK HERE to view an image of the façade).

The façade is made of two layers. Molded, clear polycarbonate panels on the interior create a transparent three-dimensional layer that refers to traditional decorative architectural elements, as well as to decorative jewelry and picture frames. A whimsical and feminine lattice pattern of Barbie-trademarked iconography is printed on the exterior glass. This pattern reinforces the architectural gestures of the interior, formed panels and the two layers interact dynamically as viewers approach and occupy the building.

In developing the design, Slade worked with Mattel fabrication facilities and teams who produced mock-ups and models of architectural elements-using the same skills and resources they employ for prototyping Mattel products. Slade also collaborated with the designers at BIG, who created the final graphics for the lattice frit pattern on the outer layer of glass.

Inside, the central element of the design is a three-story spiral staircase, which encloses more than eight hundred Barbie dolls.

The store covers approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space on six floors and houses the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of Barbie dolls. It offers the widest assortment of licensed Barbie products, as well as a range of services and activities for Barbie fans and their families, including restaurants, lounges and a spa.