An Architecture for Non Humans

A Design Competition

The Architectural Association

 

A house for a dog is a house of obedience; an unfettered appreciation of the arcane. It occupies the justice of architecture exceeding the laws in the notion of an economy. Puzzled by Tangram, an awkward geometry alluding to a house appeared out of its shadows. A cave  for ‘cave canem’, that prefers the primitive as its means of expression. A house for Un Chien Andalou, that confesses that the form of a dog lends to surreality at the best of times. Neither Doghouse or Kennel, this structure relies on the size and proportion of an A0 sheet of paper; familiar if you have housed trained such an animal. Between the Tangram and the DIN format, the dog resides outside. Hewn from a plywood, neatly screwed and its curvilinear sides covered in sail cloth, a light and airy home is construed for the dog or bitch. Not conceived for whelping, this awkward house narrates what architecture for humans is not, at least for the time being. While it serves as a model indicating the craft and play of architecture within the economic games of area, this structure communicates the logic of domesticity with the animal. A dog is no wolf and it is not garbed in sheep’s clothing; it is mans best friend as far as the duplicity of gender is accommodated. The very principle of this architectonic form is to enunciate the dichotomy within our architectural discipline; that which is both human and non-human; that as a profession we cater for all. While we are excused for applauding the machine, the animal kingdom has lost out to the arbitrariness of our collective desire to ignore the magistery of god. As luck would have it we have been entrenched as a society in a conundrum between our collective health and the economy. It takes little imagination to be able to guide the planet away from this impending disaster, only a little more obedience.