In the doghouse

Dudley smiling and quite at home at the Architecture for Dogs exhibition

Do you love architecture? Do you love dogs? Yes? Well, in that case, the exhibition Architecture for Dogs featuring a collection of architectural designs for dogs by world-class architects and designers is for you … and your dog. Exhibition director Kenya Hara discusses his inspiration and interest in dog-scale architecture or ergonomics for dogs. “When I see a small dog standing next to a person, I somehow sense new possibilities for architecture: what would come of imagining a dog-scaled architecture?”

My dog Dudley loved it and proved himself confident in front of the camera. The specially made architectural pieces are designed with a different dog breed in mind but Dudley, who is of unknown breed mix settled on “Architecture for long-bodied short-legged dogs” by Atelier Bow-wow. This is intended for a dachshund and has ramps instead of stairs (because they can’t do stairs with their shape) and all sorts of features specifically designed with that breed in mind.

Unfortunately, the exhibition is temporarily closed in line with Tier 3 guidelines meaning the dog misses out on the fun but there is a virtual exhibition where you humans can enjoy seeing all the designs up close.

Architecture for Dogs is at the Japan House gallery in London.