One 10 December, Cat product specialist Pidan opened its Sorry Dog café, a “cat-friendlier” space designed specifically for friends of the feline variety. By dividing the common idea of “pet-friendly” into separate concepts like “dog-friendly” and “cat-friendly”, Pidan aims to design a space that is pet-friendly in general but is especially friendly to cats.
Working with architects from SpaceStation and horticultural experts from Qingse Plant Studio, Pidan created a space which was divided into an indoor café and an outdoor backyard. Unlike dogs, who are generally outdoorsy, cats have different reactions to the outdoors. Therefore, the space needed to be inclusive of both indoor and outdoor sections.
Artificial ramps imitating hills are the main seating areas for both indoors and outdoors. It may be awkward to humans, but it is a playground for cats, especially with cat tower-inspired small round tables strewn across the ramps. Another point of this design is that it forces humans to sit at the same level as the cats, compared to having chairs or standing. Box-shaped tables are also included for shy cats to hide when they do not feel inclined to interact with humans or other cats.
Located on the bank of Shanghai’s Suzhou Creek, the backyard of Sorry Dog is filled with pet-friendly plants curated by Qingse Plant Studio. In a naturalistic arrangement, the plants and the artificial ramps create a hilly landscape outside the café.
Coinciding with the opening of the café, Pidan also unveiled an exhibition of works from Japanese designer Yui Takada. Takada, Pidan founder Ma Wenfei and architect Wang Zheng from SpaceStation who designed the space, were all present at the opening. The opening also included talks with Takada, as well as a special blend of coffee for the occasion. Pidan regularly holds exhibitions under the moniker of Pidan Gallery. With the cat-friendlier space open, it now has its own physical location for the gallery.
This is also not the first time that Pidan has dabbled in coffee making. In April, Pidan collaborated with coffee shop Seesaw for an exclusive blend of coffee and a human-feline inclusive menu.
