Pup Tent

New York City, USA

Architects: Slade Architecture

Year: 2010

This piece was an exploration in materials designed and fabricated for the Design Trust for Public Spaces Annual Auction. The auction project requirements were: to create a “nest”--something that could support residence for a creature, and would fit in a taxi. The auction was intended to raise money for a handful of public projects sponsore by the Design Trust and featured the work of a variety of artists, designers and architects, including: Christo, Kiki Smith, and Isaac Mizrahi.

Our design is for a modern, indoor dog lounge or PUP TENT. Water-jet cut plywood was laminated to create a conical shape. The entire puptent is made from a single 4'x8' sheet of plywood. The exterior surface was sanded and finished smooth and the interior maintains the stepping configuration characteristic of the plywood lamina. A surface pattern is created as the planar plies of the wood intersect with the conical geometry of the surface. The design is "sustainable" as well since the opening in the top promotes natural ventilation using the stack effect and natural lighting!