We love when designers get to thinking about how to create hip accommodations for kitties. In the past, we’ve featured covered litter boxes inspired by mid-century modernism and feral cat shelters inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright (yes, seriously). Today, we bring you Catissa, a wooden, four-story house meant to be affixed to a wall. Conceived by Mojorno, a Russian design studio, Catissa gives cats a bird’s eye view of the house while also providing “a safe place” for them to take a nap. “Dogs and children can’t get them,” the designer says. Plus, the smooth surface makes for easy cleaning.

Click through to see one of the best photo shoots ever involving cats and modernism!

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Last year, we spotlighted one of the most-awesome inventions ever for cat lovers: a covered litter box that fits right in with all your mid-century modern decor. Now, the same company behind that brilliant creation—Seattle-based Modernist Cats—has unveiled a new piece that’s simply purrrfect (sorry, we couldn’t resist).

The “Circa50: Console,” listed at $599, features a scratch pad for your kitty AND a place to stash your belongings. The hand-crafted, water-resistant console is made of plywood with a walnut veneer and comes with replaceable FLOR carpet tiles in five colors (not included: the hairless feline in the photos). It can be mounted to any wall and is “ideal for small spaces,” touts the designer, Crystal Gregory, who founded her company in 2010.

Other pet decor she offers includes raised feeding dishes and “peek-a-boo” side tables. See the full collection here!

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Photo: via sheknows

When Frank Lloyd Wright passed away in 1959, he left Florida Southern College with the largest collection of his designs at any one location. The campus, located in Lakeland, Florida, is home to a whopping 12 FLW-designed buildings—just six structures short of the 18 building anthology he had initially envisioned. Well, FSC is in the process of adding six more structures inspired by the storied architect to the central Florida campus. Oh, and did we mention these structures are for cats? Read more.

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Tin Hut, by designer Kathryn Walton, founder of the American Street Cat. 

Cats can be finicky clients, with mysterious preferences that add up to an almost universal rejection of the carpet platforms and plush beds humans design for them. So when several New York architects set out to design winter shelters for the city’s tens of thousands of feral cats, they had to consider what makes good design from a feline perspective. In a competition organized by Architects for Animals to benefit the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, seven architecture firms (and one independent designer) found inspiration in outdoor carpeting, Spanish moss, and aluminum cat-food cans. So how did they go about attracting the street cats of New York, short of hiding warm, charging MacBooks all over the city? Check out some of our favorite designs after the jump!

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City living can be tough, but not when you reside here! The Woven Nest, built for an actress in the UK and designed by Atmos Studio, is a beautiful light-filled penthouse with tons of luxurious lounge space tucked under its butterfly roof. With a sprawling sunroom and discreet, built-in storage at every turn, this abode could definitely make our Top 10 Greatest Places to Nap After Thanksgiving list. Read more!

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Japan is known for its cultural oddities, and it’s built industries around them. It could be said that Japanese cities, more so than most other urban centers, are populated by a panoply of subcultures, manifested physically in thematically charged spaces, most popularly eateries like cosplay cafeterias, dracula diners, and cat cafés. Like the Fab Café, which paired lattes with laser-cutters,  ”Cat Time” or (neko no jikan in Japanese) takes the coffee shop experience and throws in a seemingly irrelevant hook–cats.  Continue.

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Building: Los Gatos Library

Architect: Noll & Tam

Location: Los Gatos, California

Why We Like This:

Inspired by the delicacy of a lantern, Los Gatos Library is nestled at the foot of a hillside, serving as the prized centerpiece of the town’s Civic Center. The large windows, partially obscured by louvers, provide plenty of sun exposure during the day, optimizing light within the building for patrons. At night, artificial colored lights create a mesmerizing feature while illuminating the library’s interior. Read the complete project description here.

All photos © David Wakely

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What remains of the Nazi Europe? Mostly reinforced concrete towers and bunkers, whose immense size and incredibly thick walls proved difficult, even impractical, of destroying. In the 70 years or so since their construction, the structures, usually scattered along the beach or stranded in fields, have cultivated an aesthetic aura that continues to intensify as the generational gap and cultural gulf between the war and contemporary life widens. In France, for example, families in coastal towns near the Atlantic Wall have integrated some of the local bunkers into opulent single family homes. Similarly, in Belgium, architects Bham Design Studio have rehabilitated another Nazi infrastructural relic for domestic life, in what we think is  a much more successful, if spurious, effort.

Built between 1938 and 1941 near the village of Steenokkerzeel , the 30-meter tall structure functioned as a water tower–briefly used by the Nazis–up until the 90s, when it was decommissioned and preserved as a war monument. The exterior was completely restored to its original condition, while the interior was completely guttered, save for the concrete ceilings, stairs, and other elements which were left intact, repainted, and repaired where needed. The windows on the top floor were widened to accommodate a “sculptural” kitchen, library, cat house, and general living space. A steel bridge connects this floor to a rooftop panoramic terrace that offers expansive views of the region. The house was designed for two permanent residents, while a guest room on the second level may be rented throughout the month. Click through for more images!

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It’s always great to see practicing architects inspired by student work. Case in point: the team at Studio Gang Architects took some cues from the internetz this week, staging their very own in-office competition to design—you guessed it—LOLCATs. With a 10-minute time limit, the contestants used only images of Studio Gang architecture and Studio Gang cats to churn out a series of ‘Archi-cats’ that riff on the firm’s very own designs and renderings. They even found a much simpler and more adorable solution to rid Chicago’s waterways of invasive Asian carp. Check out the rest of these kitty collages here. Happy Friday!

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What do architecture students do over spring break? If your answer contained the words ‘wet t-shirt’ or ‘mezcal worm,’ you are way off the mark. To give you some idea of how off, a few thesis students at UC Berkeley spent their down time creating architecture-themed cat memes and posting them on tumblr. So without further ado, here are your architecture LOLCATS…

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