This year, the event’s fifth, seven prestigious New York City architectural design teams presented winter shelters they conceived and created specifically for the city’s community cat population. Creations included The Purrramid from Spacesmith, a pointed structure with a paper mache exterior over repurposed carpet-tile insulation; Kitty Kondos, feline multi-story housing from HLW International; and the Hamilton “Cat”sule Tower from Docomomo US.
Shelters demonstrating innovative use of recycled materials were also on display, including an orange-and-white-striped, plastic construction barrel shelter with an insulated liner from deSoto studio Architects; a winding, industrial pipe shelter called HV A Cat from Biber Architects; and a tire tower called Re-Tire-Tent from Narofsky Architecture that guests voted as their favorite.
Leslie Farrell, animal lover and founder of Architects for Animals, was on hand to thank guests for showing their support, and the design teams that donated shelters for this year’s exhibition. “We are grateful and overwhelmed by their creativity and generosity,” she said. “Their compassion for animals who find themselves living on the harsh streets of New York is really heartwarming. Each year we see different trends demonstrated by the shelter designs, and this year, it’s exciting to see many of the shelters constructed with recycled materials, which is great for our planet and its inhabitants — including the cats. All the shelters were wonderful.”
Jane Hoffman, President of the Alliance, commends the architectural and design community in New York City for, “once again, investing in the city’s feline community in an important way. While we urge the public to help in the Alliance’s efforts to humanely curb the feral cat population,” she adds, “the efforts of our designers will help keep the existing cats warm during these harsh winter months.”
[fbalbum url=https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156439509890321.1073741940.144262285320]