.071 E44 Laneway House

E44 Laneway House is designed for a cat who provides foster care for two young adults. Within the spacious 700 square feet there is plenty of room for jumping and running. The majority of spaces are programmed for feeding and sleeping, and occasional, on-demand socializing, should the feline incline. Ledges along windows are required for daily bird-watching and other external stimulations, the excitement of which is balanced by nooks and cubbies for self-reflection, or plotting out the next mischiefs against the humans. Direct access from where the cat sleeps to the food source has been carefully planned into the design.

As an afterthought, a bathroom and a kitchen are added for the benefits of those who need to shower every day and cannot eat out of a bowl without utensils. Within the minimalistic white volume, a dash of yellow is added as a reminder to the cat that eggs are a tasty, more humane source of protein alternative to wild catch, and that bringing the preys home is not for the faint of heart of the humans.

The project was completed in Summer 2023 and since then the cat and her humans have been living happily together.

“Dogs become very excited and jump around. Cats don’t do anything like that… They approach us. They bump their heads. Then they have some contact with us, and walk away.”

- Sirin Kale, What Our Feline Friends Really Think About Hugs, Happiness and Humans. The Guardian. December 7, 2021