Architects are used to designing within the parameters of clients' needs... but it's not everyday you design for your client's breed.
That was the task proposed by Kenya Hara, the design director of Muji, when he enlisted 12 big-name architects to design architectural environments that would "change the way humans interact with their dogs." Each of the architects were paired with a particular breed - Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA with the Bichon Frise, Shigeru Ban with the Papillon, Atelier Bow-Wow with the Dachshund, Sou Fujimoto with the Boston Terrier, Kengo Kuma with the Pug, etc - not for any architect-animal resemblance (that, according to Hara, "would frankly be a little rude"), but to provide the designers with a clear design brief.
More about Architecture for Dogs, after the break...
Each design will be available, starting on November 20th, at the Architecture for Dogs website. Users will be able to download the blueprints, customize them, and then upload images of the completed project back to the site. There will also be flatpacked versions available for purchase in 2013.
The fact that Hara decided to launch "Architecture for Dogs" at all is fairly random. Far from being a dog lover, he's more interested in the ways that architectural thinking can alter the way we conceptualize our everyday lives. In the future, he would like to expand the concept - perhaps to "Architecture for Sleeping" or "Architecture for Swimming," for example.
Prototypes of the doghouses will be exhibited at Design Miami, from December 5th to 9th; there will also be a global tour that will culminate in an exhibition in Tokyo in late 2013.
Story via T Magazine and ArchRecord
