224.453 Spatial Design Research and Development

The Companion Animals Dwelling

Dogs respond to their pet toys  - Dogs look at toys the way wolves look at their prey. This is why they tend to like toys that either taste like food, can be torn apart and or make a noise.  - Dogs find harder and quieter toys less interesting - Dogs are interested in new things. Dogs like new and exciting toys all the time. But once they became familiar with them, they tend to lose interest.  - Dogs are more interested when your participate. Dogs are social creatures, when engaging with toys and humans they enjoy it more. 

Pet toys are usually bright colours. Which is actually not doing anything for them as they can’t pick up colours that aren’t blue or yellow toned. 

Dogs possess only 2 types of cones and can only discern blue and yellow — this limited color perception is called dichromatic vision. Humans may have more cones (allowing us to see more colors and see them brighter than dogs do), but dogs have more rods (giving them the edge when it comes to seeing in low light or identifying moving objects).

Cats are different with the colours they see. Cats have only the blue and green cones, that doesn't mean those are the only colors they see. Cats have good night vision. Their toys are not as bright colours as dog toys.

Writing about my methodology was important to add from my Draft Proposal. It frames my position and approach to the material I have used. 

From my research proposal, I realised that my departure point needed have to have some design principles for Designing for your companion animal: 

These at the beginning were - Reflecting and synthesising on either the cat/s or dogs (needs, behaviour traits, language, verbal and non-verbal communication and personality)  - Recognising and acknowledging these all for humans as well  - Frame these within an living environment for both users - These living environments will provide space and features for both users. Through the materials, space planning, levels and what the environment is used for. These guidelines at first were my results from my experiments and what I have already found out. I need to push these to be more direct and specific to the companion animals.  Rather than overviewing guidelines for both the cat and dog, I needed specific ones for their animal as their requirements behaviour traits are different. 

Main critique and point from symposium was questioning the choose of my materials for my models. Companion animals engagement they have with the materials is because is what is available to them. The material choice with the things that humans like tend to be engaged with by our domestic animals.  We can’t know what it is like to be inside a cat’s brain. But the experiments I did was about speculating and trying to see the world from my companions eyes.  The relationships between humans , dog or cat is an negotiate relationship. From interaction and space negotiation.  Departure point: element of multi functionality. a part of the room that is used by the humans as one thing and then the cats use it for something else.  Living environment for both users.

In 3rd Year Last year, I did a project that explored designing a dwelling for a family and their dog. This concept explored putting the dogs needs into the house design but with a main focus on human using space first and then the dogs using it as well. Reflecting upon the design outcomes I produced I realised they were quite simple basic features built into the house that put the animals needs into the house but with a focus on how does it function and situate for the humans to get around or interact with as well as the dog. 

One of my precedents for last years design was Four Legs Four Walls Guidelines I had found.

Empathy was a concept I had read about in the earlier stages of the research and then after my feedback from symposium it was something I needed to come back to. Empathy can be defined as ‘the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.’ 

This image is from Luisa Ruge website displaying a visual technique tool for showing some of the most relevant methods when dealing with canine design and co-design methods. 

2D Mappings is a visual and verbal component on patterned backgrounds to illustrate a journey or task schedule providing a sequence of actions. The goal is to visualise where and how behaviour occurs and possible frequencies, people affected and specific instances where it happens. 

Empathy is a concept that I needed to make strong within my proposal because it acknowledges companion animals and humans to be different but also the same in particular aspects such as feelings and emotions. 

Responding to my symposium feedback with my own thoughts and comments from some of the criticism I received during the feedback. I felt some of the comments were helpful at framing my argument more but also some I wasn’t really sure what to do with. 

Experiment

Method: Speculative Model making environments for particular needs for the animal that supports their natural behaviour as the main focus.

This experiment was exploring this idea of the their being a living environment for the animal that looks at the animals natural behaviour. These are focusing on creating spaces that focus on particular action from the animal that the human then has had to adapt to live in their environment. These models show the importance of having the animals needs within a space since they are a living breathing animal as well. Creating these environments I explored more into the cats and dogs needs through what they might need to best show these.

The dogs sleeping room explored a space for that allowed for the dog to sleep whenever they desired within the room. The forms and structures looked at how dogs sleep, usually in curled positions. These are to facilitate normal animal behaviour by allowing a space for the dog to nestle into. And the humans can utilise these to form comfortable spaces. The cats sleep for long periods of time. The shapes I drew from was looking at shapes sleeping. Animals sleep into their legs as a pillow. These shapes provide places that enables the tight embrace for them. There is shelter provided in the sleeping environments with the option of sleeping not under shelter. These enable the animal to chose whether they want shelter or not.

Dog Eating Dogs usually eat in a standard eating position by bending their necks onto the ground to eat. This eating environment is to have the food and water in one place. Allowing the dogs to eat on the ground which is natural of them. From when they use to prey in the wild, they would eat their kill on the ground. The environment offers shelter offer the food area, but dogs will sometime pick up their food and move it. Depending on what it is. Cats eating environment Cats bend over to eat on the ground. Eating for a cat is a vulnerable time. When the cat hunts for the food it is happier and healthier. This concept of hunting for their food, is something I wanted to explore in the eating environment. The cats are encouraged to find their food rather than have this scheduled eating time that is controlled by humans. Cats will eat in a sitting position often bent over. The adventure is finding something within nature but providing shelter if they chose to pick it. Dogs play environment The play area looks at exploring what a dog loves to do by themselves and also with human interaction. Dogs enjoy being able to play with objects and having the ability to destroy them and rip them apart. This references their natural behaviours where they would play with another dog from their packs. These behaviours were domesticated so it focused on an object rather than another animal. The play looks at focusing everything to be situated on the ground and the animal can be completely surrounded and immersed within this play environment.

Cats Play environment The cats play area exploring their notions of hunting and exploring. This still features that the animal does still. The range of different materials is to allow the cat to interact with a range of these. Everything is located to the lower level for the cat to play with, but this could be challenged through the cats exploring different heights in response to their behaviours of jumping up and down and getting in between things.

Dogs toilet environment The dogs toilet area is about being a place that looks at all areas being inviting and the, allowing to go where ever and when ever they naturally choose to decide this. It explored having this area being something that didn’t necessarily require shelter.

Symposium Speech 

Symposium Slides 

Symposium Slides