Design Miami: architects and designers including Kengo Kuma, Toyo Ito, Shigeru Ban, MVRDV and Konstantin Grcic have designed a series of downloadable architectural structures that are just for dogs (+ slideshow).
Organised by Kenya Hara, the creative director of MUJI, Architecture for Dogs is set to launch next week as an open-source network where dog-owners can download the templates for each of the thirteen designs, then build them for themselves.
Each designer was asked to think up a structure that would alter the way that people interact with their pet, so Atelier Bow-Wow have designed a ramp for a daschund (above) that helps it make eye contact with its owner, in spite of its short legs. "We thought about stairs, but their bodies are too long and they risk hurting their hips," said the architects, explaining their design for a folding slope.
Meanwhile, Konstantin Grcic has designed a mirror for a poodle (above), as apparently it is the only dog that can recognise its own reflection.
Shigeru Ban has used his trademark cardboard tubes to create a maze for a papillon (above), while Sou Fujimoto has recreated the scaffolding-like structure of his House NA project in Tokyo in his house for a Boston terrier (below).
Sanaa's Kayuzo Sajima came up with a design for a fluffy white cushion (below) that matches the fur of the bichon frisé.
"Bichons love soft surfaces and snuggling into large blankets," said Sajima. "The typical space designed for dogs in the interior of a house is at the convenience of the human and is frequently a cage-like container you keep in the dark corner of a room. This design however is a warm, inviting version of that crate."
Kengo Kuma has devised a system of wooden components (above) that can be used to construct a hill, which a pug can either sit inside or climb up onto.
MVRDV wanted to "give the curious and playful Beagle a space of its own" and have created a gabled kennel (above) that rocks back and forth.
For a spitz, Hiroshi Naito has created a curving bed of tubes and wooden blocks (above), while Toyo Ito's design is a four-wheeled mobile home for a shiba (below).
As chihuahuas are known to love burrowing, Reiser + Umemoto thought the best structure for one would be a comfortable outfit (below). "We wanted to create something that would make the dog feel protected and safe," said the architects.
Other structures include a reimagined hammock by Torafu (below), a staircase in a box by curator Kenya Hara and an upside-down suspended cone by the Hara Design Institute.
The Architecture for Dogs website is set to launch on 15 November, when people will be encouraged to upload photographs of the structures they've built and share any improvements they've made.
The structures will also be presented in December as part of Design Miami.
Other designs for dogs on Dezeen include a special staircase at a house in Vietnam and a combined chair and kennel.
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Photography is by Hiroshi Yoda.