A series of cat houses designed by Los Angeles-based architects were created for Architects for Animals "Giving Shelter" fundraiser this month (+ slideshow).
More than 12 architecture practices with local offices created a series of structures for a one-night-only exhibition and cocktail event to raise money for animal charity FixNation.
Among the designs are a tunnel by Formation Association and artist Edgar Arceneaux that is made up of criss-crossing timber beams, with a flat, solid section of wood on the top for cats to sit on.
HOK created a stack of transparent house-life structures, echoing Herzog & de Meuron's VitraHaus, contained within a larger house shape lined with materials more commonly used on cat-scratching poles. A miniature lawn at the front provides an additional area of texture.
Perkins + Will's contribution was a climbing tunnel formed of triangular pieces that were tied together to create an enclosed space with three openings – one at the bottom, one in the middle and one at the top.
DSH architecture wrapped fabric around a series of metal rings to create a sculptural object that doubles as a resting place for cats.
Concrete provided the main material for the cat shelter by Standard Architecture and Design, with a cube housing timber platforms and a protruding timber viewing platform at the rear.
Other participants included Wolcott Architecture, Abramson Teiger Architects, d3architecture, Lehrer Architects, NAC architecture, Pfeiffer Partners Architects, RNL, RTKL, and Space Int'l.
FixNation is a not-for profit Californian organisation that is dedicated to humanely controlling cat populations through a policy of trapping, neutering and returning the animals to where they were found.
"The architectural community in Los Angeles is outstanding," said Karn Myers co-founder of FixNation. "We are so grateful to the participating design firms who are generously devoting their talent, creativity and compassion in support of FixNation. Because of FixNation's programs and the dedication of hundreds of volunteers across the city and county, many cats are able to live healthier, happier lives."
Tickets for the event, which took place last Wednesday in the showroom of furniture brand Herman Miller in Culver City, were $25 each with all profits going to the charity.
Photography is by Grey Crawford, unless otherwise stated.
