Every year in Charlotte, non-profit organization Barkitecture CLT hosts a fundraiser where groups from around the city design and build doghouses for auction with the proceeds supporting three local animal welfare groups. BarkitectureCLT 2018 raised over $9,000 for American Pit Bull Foundation, Carolina Great Pyrenes Rescue and Harvey’s Heroes.

This year, the retail team at Little Diversified Architectural Consulting was up for the challenge, with a little help from Formica Corporation.

“We wanted to make a ‘barkitecture’ that creates a place for dogs to hang out in a package that fits into any house or apartment,” said John Arnaud, intern architect. “The piece needed to elegantly occupy space in its new home while still being functional and pleasant for its four-legged inhabitants.”

Their solution was a fold away bed dubbed the “Puppy Pull Out.” Through some trial and error, the Little team found a low profile door panel on a simple hinge was the most effective way to fold a dog bed in and out of the piece.

With the function component finished, now it was time to add the elegance.

“We were initially unsure of how to treat the front of the Puppy Pull Out, but once we started digging into the Formica^® laminates and looking at all the specialty finishes available, the excitement was unanimous,” Arnaud said. “The slick patina of the Copper Stratos DecoMetal^® brought some interest to a simple yet functional ‘barkitecture.’”

The Little team laminated the front face of the door panel with the metal laminate and raved about how the texture helped it stand out at the auction event. And of course, one lucky pup now has a beautiful pull out bed courtesy of Little Diversified Architectural Consulting.

As John Arnaud says, “It’s all about the dogs!”

*This product has been discontinued and has limited availability. You can check for any remaining availability by contacting Formica Corporation at 1-800-FORMICA^™ (367-6422).

Fact File

Architect:  Little Diversified Architectural Consulting - Retail Barkitecture CLT team members include: John Arnaud, Phillip Broszkiewicz, Zack Cullinan, Ryan Schmidt, Daniel McBride, Stephanie Lewis

Photographer: John Arnaud