April 16, 2013
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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March 15, 2013
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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January 15, 2013
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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April 20, 2012
Modernism. We know it’s not just for humans. The clean-lined aesthetic of our “machines for living” has been popping up for seemingly every kingdom, phylum and class. The latest to catch our eye are a series of modernist birdhouses by Twig & Timber. Hand built using reclaimed materials, these avian homes eschew the classic gabled form and snub excessive ornamentation. Instead, they delight in simple forms accented with tasteful asymmetries and natural hues and grains. The results are clean, bold, uncluttered designs that are sure to pop beautifully against the rugged bark of a tree. Find these one-off birdhouses from Twig & Timber here on Etsy. And for more modernist pet architecture, check out our Pinterest!
[All images courtesy Twig & Timber, via Etsy]
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March 1, 2012
In case you haven’t heard, Architizer has joined the social media migration and made its way onto Pinterest! We’ve filled our boards with everything from our favorite buildings to our favorite burgers. For those of you unfamiliar with our budding Pinterest presence, here’s a taste of what we have to offer: a round-up of our top 5 ‘pet architecture’ pins for your modern dog, cat or bird. Click through to take a look.
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February 17, 2012
Cats. They make great additions to the home, but god knows their litter boxes don’t belong anywhere near that Wassily Chair. To reconcile this, Seattle-based Modernist Cat have designed a series of dignified plywood litter boxes that allow your little Mies van der Meow to play, perch, sleep and do his or her business in mid-century modern fashion. Design always has an answer!
[All images via Modernist Cat]
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March 24, 2011
Pet memes don’t need a news hook, do they? You’ve got cat videos, feline characters with their own blogs, a roster of new puppies daily, and entire Twitterverse tuned in to hear the latest cute or sad news from our four-legged friends.
Then it should come as no surprise that photographing architectural spaces with cats and dogs is gaining traction as a trend. Suppose it’s one way to warm up a space without filling it with the owner’s questionable furniture.
A roundup of (adorable) examples, after the jump.
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