Cat fanciers have been known to construct elaborate abodes for their feline friends, from catios (patios made specifically for cats) to special walkways near the ceiling that let pets run from room to room high above their owners’ heads. But not all cats have a place to call home, and to help out some of Los Angeles’s 3 million feral cats and raise money for FixNation, which spays and neuters strays, Architects for Animals held a charity auction with cat houses and shelters designed by local firms.
The architects had a variety of styles when it came to their design. A collaboration between Formation Association, Arktura, and BuroHappold resulted in the Cat-à-Tête. It’s meant to provide both an outdoor hiding space for strays, as well as a seating area for humans. The slats let sunlight in and allow the cats to check out what’s going on outside.
“Through various openings, cats enter to the interior of Cat-à-Tête, protected from would-be predators,” according to the firm. “Inside, a circuit of sculptural spaces shaped in a continuous figure eight offers areas of refuge, rest, play, and observation.”
“Cat in a Fish Bowl” by Abramson Teiger Architects is also multifunctional: It works as a side table.
“I’ve always wanted to create a cathouse that really works,” Douglas Teiger tells Interior Design. “Most are gigantic and impractical. For this project I was inspired by the symbol for yin-yang, which is made up of two fish, and represents the dichotomy between opposite energies and how they are connected and interdependent, just like a cat and a fish.”
The participating firms include Abramson Teiger Architects, CallisonRTKL, DSH Architecture, Formation Association, HOK, KnowHow Shop, Lehrer Architects, Pfeiffer Partners Architects, Perkins+Will, RNL Design, Standard Architecture, and Word.
