Last week, Architects for Animals hosted an exhibition of cat shelters designed by some of Los Angeles's top architectural firms. The popular event is a fundraiser for FixNation, a local nonprofit that seeks to reign in LA's large population of stray cats by providing humane sterilization services. Architects for Animals routinely receives a host of creative and intriguing shelter designs, and this year was no exception.
Highlights included a design by HOK that featured a fishbowl with real fish, a shelter by Knowhow Shop meant to resemble a lunar lander, and an imposing gray structure built in a collaboration between three firms (Formation Association, Arktura, and Buro Happold) with the aim of giving cats the opportunity for private, face-to-face contact. The winner of the public vote was Abramson Teiger Architects for their design, which puts cats in a fishbowl-shaped structure with multiple lookout points.
Also on display at the event: a collection of cat bowls hand-painted by celebrities. These bowls, now up for auction, include whimsical illustrations from William Shatner, Betty White, Bill Nye, and Clint Eastwood—because who wouldn't want their cat eating from a bowl decorated by Clint Eastwood?