My human went to the Third Annual “Architects for Animals: Giving Shelter” event last Thursday. This project, which was launched in 2010, aims at helping NYC feral cats:
Every year since 2010, some of New York’s most prestigious architectural designers, through an inventive project called Architects for Animals, have been helping New York City’s feral cats by creating imaginative winter shelters to provide them with a refuge from the cold. We are delighted to present these collections of unique, inspired winter shelters for public viewing at the Architects for Animals: Giving Shelter exhibit before they are placed in locations throughout the city to provide comfort for the cats. This annual exhibition benefits the New York City Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals.
It was taking place in the place called Manhattan, very close to Columbus Circle.
I would like to start by thanking Sparkle for posting so quickly about the event (that’s how we learned, and we live in NY!), and Tamar of I Have Cat for sending the info to bloggers.
Thankfully, a lot of people showed up; the showroom was crowded.
So of course, my human didn’t even offer to bring me to the event. Okay, there was a LOT of people, but she could have offered still.
My human took the pictures during the event, so the pictures tend to be crowded too. You can see good shots of each shelter at Cat Wisdom 101 and I Have Cat. But here are my human’s.
Leslie Farrell, founder of Architects for Animals, made a short speech to thank everyone. She got a little emotional.
She invited everyone to pick some kibbles at the buffet to put in their favorite shelter’s bowl, in order to vote. Yes, furriends, despite my human pretending there would be only human food at the buffet, there were kitty kibbles!
The first one is by M. Moser Associates. You can click on the third picture to read more about these kitty pods.
See the bowl on the floor? That’s in those that people could vote by throwing kibbles in there.
The following one, Shelter A, was created by Callison Barteluce. You can also click on the third pic to see details (although the quality isn’t that great)
The following one, Swiss Cheese by Stonehill & Taylor, was entirely made of recycled materials.
The next one is a simple, one cat shelter, by H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture. You can click on this one.
Since this is NYC, it’s only fair that kitties have their skyscraper (okay kinda) too. This one is by Francis Cauffman.
The last one my human took pictures of (apparently, she missed one) is quite original. It is made with recycled cat food cans (yes, cat food cans!) that are insulated. The shelter is made so that 2 to 4 cats can be inside it at the same time, but still not be too close to one another (I am not sure it is very visible on the third picture, but the inside kind of has corners). It was made by the American Street Cat. This shelter is aready being used (check here).
Last but not least, this DIY NYC Cat Fort, by Pilot Projects. Isn’t that cool?! You can find the details here.
My human was glad to see Tamar of I Have Cat and Layla of Cat Wisdom 101, that she had both met at the Rentaneko projection. She was also very glad to meet Kevin and Tracey of Animal Shelter Volunteer Life. I wish I could have meet them too!
All in all, my human says the event appeared to be successful. Let’s hope it will be able to do its part to help NYC feral kitties.
You can find more pictures here, as well as “in progress photos of a habitat for NYC’s homeless animals,” Stonehill & Taylor’s shelter, on Stonehill & Taylor’s Facebook page.
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Texas, a cat in New York 
