The project is located in Pudong, Shanghai. It is the basement of a typical Shanghai old
mansion in the 90's. It has all the typical features of Shanghai's “Old and Small”. In
addition to the two mothers and sons, the owner has 40 cats and 2 dogs. Everyone is
crowded together to live in this 48m2 ground floor space. The entire space is full of cages,
and human space is backlogged by extreme limits. This has also caused The contradiction
between mother and son arises. At the same time, due to the high density of human pets, the
light is dim, and various smells are mixed together, making the air quality very poor, and
the health conditions are very embarrassing.
Schrödinger: Superposition of connection and separation between humans and pets
In the high density of human pets, the relationship between humans and pets is the focus of
the overall design. The first is the reorganization of the overall functional zoning. The space
between humans and pets interlocks with each other, forming two spatial systems of yin
and yang. . The living room, the second bedroom and the master bedroom form a space for
people to live in, and the corridor and the two cabins in the yard form a space for pets. The
two spaces bite into one another.
At the same time, the symbiotic relationship between pets and humans is reflected in their
mutual need. Pets provide humankind with warmth and companionship in exchange for
human food and living space. When the number of pets is large, if they are free-living,
people's mixed living will turn into a war for space. If they are converted to prison-style
isolation and culture, they will lose the equality of the original pets and human interaction.
Therefore, the pet and the person in this scheme are in a superimposed state of connection
and segmentation at all times.
Through a free-living cat apartment, the high-density free life of cats is isolated from
humans. Polycarbonate hollow boards and matte acrylic materials are used to blur the
boundaries of different spaces. People can see the coming and coming cats in the living
room. The cat can also see the owner walking around through the translucent material.
There is a translucent sliding door hidden in the cat's apartment, this sliding door as a key
valve for the pet world and the human world. When closed, the human channel is
completely open, and the connection between the apartment and the cat's light core is also
reduced, and the probability that the cat enters it is greatly reduced (the human area is
expanded, the cat area is reduced), and when opened, the corridor will be The area is
completely divided into cats. At the same time, each floor of the apartment of the cat is
associated with the core of light. People in the living room can observe the cats in the
activity without any obstacles. (The human area shrinks and the cat's active area expands).
Space for pets
There is a fundamental difference between high-density pet housing solutions and ordinary
cat-friendly people. Just as humans migrated to big cities, the high-density population
resulting from the post-World War II population explosion gave birth to a new generation
of architectural forms. The most famous is the Masai apartment in 1952. Corbusier tried to
preserve the dignity of high-density human living environment. In Pudong, Shanghai, in
2018, we hope to build a Cat Marseille apartment for 40 cats to solve the cat's life in high-
density environment. , activities, excretions and diet activities.
The overall layout of the whole apartment adopts the functional zoning of the classic
modern architecture, which separates the traffic core and the logistics area from the
residential area and is vertically connected. All floors are connected in series horizontally,
from the dwelling unit to the logistics unit and then to the core drum.
The main traffic nucleus consists of a light cylinder and an upright stairwell. When the
“valve” is closed, the cat is mainly up and down the vertical stairwell. When the “valve” is
open, the light cylinder is completely connected to the cat’s apartment. Get more climbing
and jumping space. At the same time, the "cat in the barrel" is also one of the main viewing
facilities in the human living room.
The one closest to the traffic nucleus is the cat's logistics space, and a specially-designed
cat box is designed to provide drinking and catering services through the integrated litter
area and eating area. The cat litter area provides convenient cat litter service through
drawer pull. The water bowl and grain bowl are integrally designed in the same box and are
produced uniformly by the factory.
This product can also be sold separately in the future, and the whole assembly is made of
simple 6-point screws. After being unpacked and packaged, it can be put into a 15-cm long
parcel package for convenient delivery and transportation. This separate “cat box”
distinguishes Cat litter, cat litter, and cat food areas provide an integrated solution for cat
lovers, especially cat owners with multiple cats.
Finally, the cat's living unit is composed of a semi-perforated acrylic combined with a
movable cat box. The detailed card slot formed by the small edge of the box is combined
with the movable perforated flap to prevent the cat from leaving the cat apartment without
permission. The owner can Gently pull the box outwards, unlock the flap, and open the cell
to remove the cat.
The ultraviolet light tube is installed above the cat's apartment and can provide sterilization
and disinfection. At the same time, a dedicated exhaust fan is installed at the top of the
apartment to ensure air circulation and freshness. At the end of the corridor, there is a
special kitchen for cats and rice, which is separate from the human kitchen. It provides
facilities such as hot and cold water, induction cookers, sinks and so on. It can be used for
special cat meals.
The house of the cat is the house of the dog. There are bathing spaces for the dogs, drying
space and hair-blowing space. Between the cat house and the dog house is a "one-meter
house" that provides lighting for the main bedroom and also opens a passage between pets
and humans.
Human space
The overall building space is like an animal's soft body curve, organizing space through
different levels of arcs. The paths of these arcs combine with the direction of the beams of
the original building, ensuring the integrity and safety of all building structures. At the
same time arcs and arches also pay tribute to the classic works of Corbusier.
The entrance to the top of the entrance has a long round arch, and the side walls are
combined with cat scales to draw a red and blue ruler. The living room combined with the
open kitchen integrated design expands the space experience of the original living room,
and the living room and kitchen can be flexibly divided by the built-in three-door sliding
door.
The bright space enriches the activity of the small space while making the space brighter
and clearer. The red, yellow, and blue colors match the overall space and guide pedestrians
to streamline. The main color scheme in the living room is yellow and blue, and walks
through the yellow ribbon on the ceiling, emphasizing the overall arc feeling. The walls of
the blue space extend from the bathroom into the living room. The wall of the home is red,
lighting the entire living room space.
The bedroom mainly uses blue and yellow color matching with the finished furniture. The
second bedroom is designed with a folding bed and a floor to provide enough storage space
while providing more space usage. In combination with the bay window, an oversized work
surface was designed.
Provides a comfortable chicken environment.
Reflection and penetration of light
Translucent materials not only blur the boundaries of different functional spaces, but also
provide reflection and penetration of light. A light guide was used on the suspended ceiling
to introduce outdoor light into the room and reflect it back into the interior space through
the top fully reflective stainless steel. At the same time, the wall of the hallway is a
combination of a polycarbonate hollow plate and a mirror surface, which diffuses light into
the room and enhances the illumination of the entire house. The mirror also reflects part of
the cat's apartment into the living room where you can observe the movement of the cat in
the apartment.
Other warm heart renovation details
A secret passage was set in the mother's room to the kennel, which allowed the mother to
easily reach the kennel and set up a double door system in it to isolate the noise. In the cat
and dog house, a unique insulated exhaust fan system was designed, which consists of the
outermost rain-proof shutters, the middle exhaust fan, and the innermost sliding window to
ensure that the indoor insulation provides ventilation at the same time. At the same time,
the floor uses imitation floor tiles, the following is a waterproof coating layer, effectively
eliminate the wet problem of the bottom of the old house.
Conclusion
In the constantly compressed human life, especially in the crowded cities, life always
requires people to give up a lot of things, while people are driven by desires, chasing bigger
houses, higher incomes and more friends The circle, in turn, forms the day-to- day anxiety.
