We design houses for humans. We design houses for dogs. What we don't design are houses for humans and dogs, which is somewhat odd, considering the fact we often co-habitate. But dogs and humans have different design needs... especially if you're the owner of some stumpy-legged bulldog or schnauzer, huffing and puffing his or her way up stairs meant for the long stride of human legs.
In Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh-based architectural firm 07Beach was asked to renovate a home for a dog-owning client. Thinking of the canines, 07Beach built a separate staircase for dogs into the plans, complete with doggy balustrade, smaller steps, and a shallower incline, perfect for a pooch's shorter legs.
07Beach's client was a personal friend of Joe Chikamori, principal architect, and in the pitch, Chikamori wrote a friendly note. "I designed this so that your house could represent your affection for your wife and your two dogs, with the idea that this house will be like a gift to your family." The plans took 17 days to design, then an additional 26 days for construction.
The integration here is quite nice, giving the dog staircase a whimsical, almost fairy-like feeling. If the house is resold to someone without dogs, the staircase can also be repurposed, as a series of bookshelves, or a private staircase for the family cat, who — let's face it — isn't going to deign to use the same staircase as the homo sapien plebs she's been forced to board with.
(Via: Hypebeast)