A drawing of the city as a collection of architectural eccentricities:

Atelier Bow-Wow is a Tokyo based architecture firm, founded in 1992. The firm is well known for its domestic and cultural architecture and its research exploring the urban conditions of micro, ‘pet’ architecture. Atelier Bow-Wow produced a guide book of pet architecture in Japan.

“Pet Architecture” is a term Atelier Bow-Wow uses to describe buildings that have been tightly squeezed and fitted into left over spaces in urban areas. These buildings often depict curious shapes and have inventive solutions to allow ‘normal’ structural fixtures; windows, drainage and possibly air conditioning to allow functionality.

I have been inspired by the work produced by those at Atelier Bow-Wow to create my own guide of pet architecture in Sydney. The buildings I chose all depict petite coffee shops in Sydney which are tucked into small spaces. I focus more on space in the structure in my work rather then the building as a whole, as there are many buildings in Sydney which are split up into multiple sections. These sections each being a different retail outlet, workshop or cafe in this instance. I think cafe spaces in the city can afford to be so small because of the nature of todays city dwellers. People in the city tend to be always in a rush and impatient, especially in the morning when after there first hit of caffeine. Take-away coffee is generally the option for those as they get to drink on the go.

I have drawn (by hand and on computer) a collection of eccentric petite cafes in Sydney that share the similarity of those documented in ‘Pet architecture guide book’. I chose to further document my work on a computer to further replicate the neat, precise line work produced by those at Atelier Bow-Wow.

Coming from a personal view, I have noticed myself being attracted to these buildings for a long time. Maybe its because of the obvious, that they are so cute and small, but they also trigger a sense of curiosity to my mind and I think that is fascinating.

My work:

References-

Atelier Bow-Wow (2002) Pet architecture guide book. Japan: World Photo Press.

Cottrell, C. (2013) 10 smart, skinny buildings squeezed into Teeny Tiny Spaces. Available at: http://flavorwire.com/367243/10-smart-skinny-buildings-squeezed-into-teeny-tiny-spaces (Accessed: 7 August 2016).