The Green Dollhouse Project

Making the entire world greener and its buildings more
eco-friendly is a gargantuan task, but the Green Dollhouse Project
offers a way to improve the health of our surroundings, step by
small step. Inviting all design professionals and design students
to send in their own eco-friendly dollhouse, the project offers
‘national media and museum exposure … and a chance to change the
world, one dollhouse at a time.’ The winning entries chosen by a
jury with a ‘keen eye for green and healthy sense of fun,’ will be
put on display at the Coyote Point Museum in San Mateo, CA (just
south of San Francisco) and five other venues during a tour around
the country.

The idea for the competition is simple: to ‘inspire lots of
people (big and little) to take steps to make their own homes a
little healthier and easier on the environment.’ Of course, the
idea of socially and environmentally responsible architecture is
daunting, especially as cookie-cutter suburban homes pop up all
over the United States. The Green Dollhouse Project admits, ‘Many
people still think of green building — if they think of it at all
— as a bewildering subject best left to the experts.’ There is
hope, however. ‘Energy efficiency, water conservation, the use of
nontoxic building materials and other sustainable practices are
gradually making inroads into mainstream home building.’

The criteria for your dollhouse entry are surprisingly simple.
First and foremost, it ‘should delight children (and adults!) and
hold up to active play. Creativeness, inventiveness, playfulness
and functionality as a dollhouse are key features.’ But remember
the word green — the central environmental theme here.
‘Your completed dollhouse and accompanying design statement should
teach children and adults about one or more aspects of green home
building, and inspire them to do something now to make their own
home a little greener.’

Possible building concepts could be: energy efficiency, water
conservation, recycled materials, renewable energy generation,
passive solar design, solar water heating or climate appropriate
design.
— Jacob Wheeler

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The Green Dollhouse
Project

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