WHAT_architecture values its students, interns and trainees! Such that with the 276amt_Amtico Design Charette we allowed the students to conceptualise, produce and present the project. In the accompanying video produced by our structural engineering student Caline Masrehjian (Concordia University Montreal), you can see Šárka Guľašiová (Czech Technical University) and Ania Scibior (University of Technology Lublin) present to Amtico, the world’s largest luxury vinyl flooring producer. Their efforts can be seen here on Amtico’s website: click here!  

A holistic restaurant for four-legged friends, The Curious Canine Kitchen will pop up on Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 April in, da-rah, Shoreditch. Featuring two seating’s each day (1-3pm & 3-5pm) this ‘Doggie Fine Diner’ is the first of its kind in Britain to serve high-end, freshly prepared, organic canine cuisine.  Lucky Foodie Fido’s will be treated to a five-course, drink paired set menu. Items on the “The Nature Way Tasting Menu” for dogs include Textures of Tripe with seaweed and kale puree, crispy Paddywack with reishi mushroom flaxseed cream and coconut and blueberry chia pudding with gluten-free cinnamon quinoa ‘dog biscuits’ to name a few. Served alongside refreshments such as Alkaline water, beef consommé and coconut water, the menu will be polished off with a piquant marrowbone, known for its teeth cleaning properties and a ‘Fresh Breath’ herbal tea tonic to aid digestion. Served by waiters at one of the restaurants four bespoke doggy tables, any left over’s will be available to take home in a doggy bag, along with a special goody bag featuring some easy tips and tricks on introducing fresh foods and herbs to a dogs diet as well as recipes and samples from dog loving sponsors including brands such as Diet D’Og and Woof&Brew. On-site entertainment includes a fido photo booth for posing pooches. Not wishing dog owners to miss out on the action.. they too will be served an assortment of seven, raw whole food amuse-bouche and a variety of drinks as part of a set ‘Rawsome Tasting Menu’. Featuring a range of the superfoods presented in the doggie menu including spirulina, flaxseed, coconut oil and chia, the menu which includes items such as gazpacho raw soup, golden quinoa, coconut and mango salad as well as avocado, blueberry and chia cheesecake demonstrates how culinary ingredients can be shared between owners and their hounds. http://www.curiouscaninekitchen.com The image below compares breakfasts: my son’s breakfast (left) vs our dog’s (right).

Chiba, our Japanese Akita rescue dog and a roving ‘barkitect’ sniffs out spaces of interest in Shoreditch… C,,–,,> The Game of Barkitecture is one of identifying canine access. Under the Clean Neighbourhood and Environment Act 2005, local authorities were given the power to introduce Dog Control Orders (DCOs) in order to address dog related issues in open spaces. The DCOs can include dog exclusion orders, dogs on lead orders, dogs on lead by direction orders, removing dog foul orders and orders limiting a number of dogs walked by one person. Any proposed DCOs must be advertised for consultation in local newspapers. Whilst no record is held regarding how many DCOs have been implemented in England and Wales, access officers in local authorities have indicated that there has been an increasing amount of restrictions placed on dog owners every year. This trend has impacted on dog walkers, some of whom have been dispersed onto sensitive land which has caused wider negative effects to both plant and animal life, and thereby causing further restrictions being placed on dogs and their owners. From October 20th 2014, Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) will be introduced under the Anti-social behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and will replace DCOs. The local authorities will have similar powers to introduce orders, except there will be no requirement for them to advertise PSPO consultations in local newspapers. So our pet subject is: What is the law on allowing dogs in bars, restaurants and shops? The difference in attitudes to dogs in commercial establishments between say Germany (where dog friendliness ranks above child friendliness) and the UK is cultural rather than legal. There is no British law that prevents a dog entering a premise – it is at the discretion of the landlord. There is a gross misconception in the UK that dogs are not allowed in places where food is served: this is not the case. The only legal obligation on the owner is to make sure there is no risk of contamination and that all food preparation areas are up to specified hygiene standards. So with this in mind we took Chiba along to our local butcher’s Brian Roberts (Peckover Traditional Butchers) which was awarded a Food Hygiene Rating of 4 (Good) by the local Council in 2015 – presumably not a 5 because the sight of a dog in a butcher’s shop still raises an eyebrow or two. The Kennel Club’s Open for Dogs Campaign aims to persuade more UK businesses to be dog-friendly. Each year there is a competition to find the most dog-friendly, with the winners announced at the Discover Dogs…

Chiba: the Barkitect. The office doge. We’re often told she looks sad. But in reality she has ‘panda eyes’: dark hair surrounds. What if the hair around her eyes was blonde? Would she look happier: do or dye!

Chiba, a Japanese Akita rescue dog and a roving ‘barkitect’ sniffs out spaces of interest in Shoreditch… \,,,,> Another dog in Shoreditch!? For three years, George has sat every day with John Dolan on Shoreditch High Street. Sitting on the street every day and watching the world go by, George and John became part of the community, barking to passers by about his life, his experiences, his drawings. For George sat for John who began to draw the buildings on the street, elevating the old, decrepit buildings that are so often ignored and under appreciated…”    

Chiba, a Japanese Akita rescue dog and a roving ‘barkitect’ sniffs out spaces of interest… \,,,,> What are the dogs of Shoreditch? “The Gentle Author”, aka Dan Cruickshank, consulted his copy of Thomas Bewick’s General History of Quadrupeds 1824 to see what breeds were familiar two hundred years ago and discovered the major difference is that many breeds which were working dogs then are domestic dogs today.” So a husky in Hackney indeed has history (which partially explains the appearance of one on Shoreditch Station). Local resident and art critic John Berger (who’s seminal text ‘Ways of Seeing‘ and subsequent serialisation on  TV became one of the most influential art programmes) recently collaborated on ‘TAŞKAFA – Stories of the Street’, a film about urbanism and belonging and observed relations between street dogs and humans.