A special case. An apartment in Shanghai for a family and 42 pets

Architect
Shanghai Huadu architecture & Urban planning
A type
apartment
Year

A semi-basement apartment with an area of ​​48 square meters in an old Shanghai mansion is the home of a woman who lives with her son and loves animals so much that she sheltered 40 cats and 2 dogs. The cat population increased gradually, but with each new pet, the living space for people decreased and living conditions worsened. The owner turned to the architects of the local bureau Shanghai Huadu architecture & Urban planning with a request to re-plan the apartments in such a way as to create a space for the comfortable coexistence of people and animals.

The owners of the apartment wanted their pets not to feel isolated, so the option of moving cats and dogs in cages was not initially considered. With the help of a sliding partition, the apartment was conditionally divided into functional zones for owners and animals. The core of the "cat" territory was a multi-level rack made of translucent polycarbonate, a kind of "capsule hotel", which cats enter via a play ladder. Each capsule consists of a place to sleep and a toilet, which can be easily removed thanks to the retractable system.

Translucent partitions allow owners to keep an eye on their pets, and they, in turn, feel protected in secluded shelters. Exhaust ventilation, mounted above the rack, removes unpleasant odors that no longer cause discomfort to people and guests. An ultraviolet lamp used for disinfection is integrated into the ceiling near the hood.

At the exit from the apartment to the yard, the architects built an extension with two separate rooms for dogs. Between the cat and dog territories there is a kitchen intended for preparing food for animals. The owner's kitchen is on the opposite side of the apartments.

The owners can selectively limit the territory of the animals - you can lock a separate cell, rack, or slide a partition between the rooms.

There are two bedrooms, a common room, a bathroom and a kitchen on the owner's territory. From the mother's bedroom, so that she would not worry about her pets and have easy access to them, a separate entrance to the kennel was provided.

Despite the limited footage, the use of translucent materials, built-in lighting and a mirror wall in the corridor allows you to blur the boundaries, creating the illusion of space. The color solutions used in this interior create a cheerful mood in people and animals.