Cat-à-Tête is a feral cat shelter which takes the form of a tête-à-tête, an S-shaped seat allowing face-to-face conversation. The structure provides a social framework for cats and humans alike. 

The entire structure of Cat-à-Tête employs a sustainable sheet material comprised largely of recycled plastic bottles - and is itself completely recyclable.  Despite its constitution, the material is soft and possesses tactile properties similar to felt. 

Cats enter this soft structure through various openings, escaping their would-be predators.  The protected interior is defined by laminated serial ribs and spatially organized in a continuous figure 8 circuit offering areas of rest, play, and observation.  Alternating bays of material and open slots create plays of patterned light across the structure's textured surfaces.

The binary pattern of Cat-à-Tête's serial construction points to the binary relationship between feral cats and humans - While the two may not directly cross-paths when visiting Cat-à-Tête, the structure's form suggests an on-going inter-species dialogue through repeated binary alternation.

Exhibited at the Herman Miller showroom in Los Angeles, Cat-à-Tête is Formation Association’s 2016 contribution to ‘Architects for Animals: Giving Shelter’, an exhibit of architect-designed feral cat shelters.

In collaboration with Arktura and BuroHappold.

formation association