TOarchitecture for dogs. It’s true, they love us just as we are, they feel like our home, a penthouse or hut, preferably with a garden but a sofa for two is enough. But us?
How much we respect them our dogs, how much we consider them individuals, or rather equal roommates, deserving of spaces and architecture designed for non-anthropocentric needs? And to what extent can design become a shared language between different species?
Before answering, it is worth visiting the exhibition Architecture For Dogs, open toADI Design Museum in Milan until February 16th. It is reflection, project, great fun.
The “Italian Greyhound” project by Giulio Iacchetti. Exhibited for the first time, sustainable, created by Riva 1920. Photo Hiroshi Yoda
From sustainable tent-yurt-kennel with sofa by Giulio Iacchetti to play rocking house of the MVRDV studio, to the equipped “living” of Sou Fujimoto, al steak mat by Ma Yansong, international architects with a strong Japanese prevalence (Kengo Kuma and Hiroshi Naito, Kazuyo Sejima and Sou Fujimoto… and it is Japanese curator Kenya HaraCEO of Nippon Design Center), and dogs of ecumenical breeds such as Greyhound and Shiba-Inu, Jack Russell and Beagle meet in front of Hiroshi Yoda’s lens while the ADI also stages the installations, with the soundtrack pet friendly by Suguru Yamaguchi.
Pram with very Japanese parasol for the Shiba-Inu, designed by Toyo Ito. Photo Hiroshi Yoda.
Architecture for dogs, if the cushion is design
There exhibition, for the first time in Italya huge success in London in 2020, is produced in a new version, with two new Italian-designed architectures, Of Giulio Iacchetti e Piero Lissonimade by Riva 1920. There are many proposals between the visionary and the functional: camouflage cushions, delicious rugs, the anti-sufficiency bench for the furry ones and the vertical kennel that allows the four-legged friend to look his human straight in the eyes, the rocking house…
Sou Fujimoto’s “living” for a demanding Boston Terrier. Photo Hiroshi Yoda.
If the ideas were accepted they would make a difference in Italian homes which today welcome 15 million dogs (and the concentration in Milan is maximum). Beloved, in general, but more and more often… humanized. It is no coincidence that the Giorgio Armani maison, partner of the exhibition, has created with Poldo Couture a capsule for Fido & company, elegant and at the same time respectful of canine sensitivity.
The installation relating to Piero Lissoni’s project. Courtesy ADI Design Museum, photo Denise-Manzi.
It’s not just to admire, understand, smile. There is something to do: anyone in the world can access the drawings and instructions for the works by downloading them for free from the official website (https://architecturefordogs.com/), and then build these architectures adapting them to the needs of your dog. To strengthen the bond with him, who will probably attend the DIY session with pleasure.
INFO on https://www.adidesignmuseum.org/
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