Wouldn’t you love to be the envy of the neighborhood with a resort-like poolside retreat — spending your days leisurely lounging by the pool, partaking in a cool dip then retreating to the shade of your custom, cozy deck for a nap? Oh, what a life — the life of a dog in this case.
At FKP Architects, we spend our days creating health care, research and academic environments — designing the optimum experiences where people heal, work and learn. We asked ourselves, why shouldn’t the same care and detail be given to creating the optimum canine experience? Participating in Barkitecture Houston’s third annual doghouse exhibition, we sought to do just that — transcend the traditional doghouse and elevate the aesthetic and the experience.
Our team took consideration into what our four-legged “clients” would want out of their doghouse. Living in Houston, we thought our “clients” would love to have water at their disposal, for either play or drink. After they were all tuckered out from whatever mischief they could find, they would enjoy a quiet place to relax, elevated to enhance the cooling effects of a pleasant breeze. For ease of movement, they would need stairs and a ramp; And of course shade to protect from the sweltering Texas sun.
We carefully planned our doghouse’s five components — the pool, ramp, stairs, deck and shade — to make reconfiguring easy, giving exceptional flexibility to fit various moods or spaces. The proportions of the components were designed with the ability to rotate 90 degrees. Not only did we want the doghouse to appeal to pets, we also wanted it to delight their pet “parents” as well.
Four of the five components are linear in form, while the shade component adds a juxtaposing curve. As in nature, the combination of linear and curvilinear creates a harmonizing composition. This careful balance in form also spills over into the colors chosen. To achieve a modern look, we wanted to use high contrasting materials. The dark-stained pine wood complements the aqua, blue and white glass mosaic tile. For the final touch, we added a slightly glossy topcoat.
We hope our four-legged friends enjoy their new home as much as we have enjoyed designing and building this creation for our non-conventional “client”.
Diane Capian purchased the FKP dog house at the Barkitecture silent auction mid-October this year and was interviewed by EaDo Life contributor Mayra Gaitan:
MG: When you saw the dog house what called to you over to it?
DC: It was so unique and the pool is was sold me. With the tile glass, I just thought it was amazing… very Zen, peaceful. I just loved it.
MG: How does it fit your lifestyle?
DC: It really fits our house and that’s a big reason why I bought it. Our colors inside and outside match perfectly.
MG: What dogs do you have and which one prefers to nap in your new dog house?
DC: I have two six month old French Bull Dogs and an eleven year old Jack Russell Terrier. And the puppies (laughs) definitely like to nap on the dog house!
Diane Capian is the e-commerce and marketing director of Houston’s Momentum Jaguar, Volvo, Land Rover, Porsche and Audi.