CATable1.0(Topright)andCATable2.0aredesignedbyRuanHaoasasecondhomeforcats,withmanyinbuiltcrevicesinwhichthepetscanplay,crouchorsleep.[Photo/ProvidedtoChinaDaily]
Architectdesignsfurnituretohelpyoustayclosetoyourpet,LinQireports.
Catlovers,yourbelovedfluffycompanionscouldstaybyyoursidewhileyouwork,thankstohomefurnituredesignedbyHangzhou-basedarchitectRuanHao.
CallingitCATable,Ruan,30,gotalotofattentionwhenanonlinevideoofhisconceptdeskwentviral.
Otherthanservingasaworkplaceforowners,CATablecanbecomeasecondhomeforcats,withitsmanyinbuiltcrevicesinwhichthepetscanplay,crouchorsleep.
ButRuandoesn’trevealwhentheCATablewillbeonthemarketinChina,sayingitisa“businesssecret”.Histeammayalsobethinkingofafutureseriesofsuchtables.
“Rightnowwedon’tknowexactlywhatwewillattempttocreate.ButwepromisethatitwillbeasinterestingasCATable.”
Ruan,acatownerwhofoundedLYCSArchitecturein2010,hasseveralawardstohiscreditfordesigningschools,commercialcompoundsandofficeinteriors.TheideaforCATablecametohimwhenhewasthinkingofwaystochangethelookofanormaltable.Hewantedtomakespaceforthepleasureofbothownersandtheircats,andfoundthataddingdrawerswasn’tthesolution.
“Whensomeonesitsbyadesk,thedistancebetweenthesurfaceandtheperson’slapisabout20centimeters.Thespaceinbetweencanbetransformedintoa‘room’offun,”RuantellsChinaDaily.
Hedescribestherelationshipbetweenanownerandhisorhercatassubtle.
“Youwanttospendasmuchtimewithyourcataspossible.Butwhenyouneedtogetbacktoworkorstudy,andpushyourcatawayfromyourlap,it’sanemotionalmoment.”
Ruan’sfirstversionCATable1.0wasdifficulttomanufacturebecausethedesigninvolvedirregularcutsinthewoodwithwhichthedeskismade.Ruanandhisteamfirstmadeamodelwiththehelpof3-Dimaging,andpresentedaprintouttothecraftsmen,askingthemtocarveonedeskoutofanentireblockofwood.
“Itdoesn’tlookgoodifthetableismadeupofwoodenjoints,”Ruansays.
Thencarpentersdrilledtunnelsandpocketsintothetableandpolishedeverypartofit.Theprocesspreservesboththenaturalfeelofwoodandthesophisticationofthehandicraft.
BeforehedesignedtheCATable,Ruanresearchedfelinebehavior.Butstill,hewasnervouswhenthreeorfourcatswerebroughttohisofficetotryoutthetable.Heandhisteamweren’tsureifthecatswouldventureintothetunnelstoplay,hesays.Buttheylovedthetable.
“Catsareagileandhaveelasticbones.So,itisunlikelythattheywillgetstuckinthetable.”
Theotherbenefitofhavingacatonyourworkdeskorstudytableistheeaseofcleaning.Catstendtocleanthemselvesoftenthroughthedayandtheownerscanjustuseahairdryertoremovefallenfurfromthefurniture,headds.
CATablewasexhibitedatMilanDesignWeek2014alongwiththeworksofotherChinesedesigners.
“Thetablemaycatertoonlyasmallgroupofpeoplerightnow.Butaslongastheylikeit,theywillhelptalkaboutittoalargerpopulation,”Ruansays.
Thetablecomesinanotherversion.
Earlierthisyear,RuanupdatedthedesignbycreatingCATable2.0.HefeltthatacatmaygetboredwithCATable1.0,justlikepeopleloseinterestinobjectstheyusedaily.
Ruanfoundinspirationfromtoyblocksthatchildrenspendhoursassembling.
CATable2.0ismadeofseveralwoodencubemodules.Eachcube,measuringsome40centimetersinheight,hascavitiesofvaryingshapesandsizes.Peoplecangroupthecubesinthesamewayachildpilesuptoyblocks.Thecombinationscreatedifferentwalkingroutesforcats,andallowsownerstoturntheunitsintoshelves,desksorotherfurniture.
“CATable2.0isnotmerelyanimprovementof1.0.Ithasbecomeanopensystemandusershelpcompletethedesign.Theycanrearrangethemodulestotheutmost,”Ruansays.
“Designhasbecomemorecross-disciplinary.Whetherwedesignabuilding,theinteriorspaceorfurniture,weareallattestingtousers’emotionalneeds.Weworkwithsharedlogicaslongasourcreationisaboutthecityandlife.”
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