Puppy Talk and Pimm’s Cup: A Dog-loving Designer Cocktail Party and Workshop

AIANY Committee on Residential Architecture, formerly known as the Custom Residential Architects Network (CRAN), and the AIANY Design for Aging Committee are co-hosting a cocktail party and conversational workshop at PID Floors Showroom to allow dog-loving designers, puppy-care professionals, and emotionally supportive canine companions to share knowledge and experience gained from successfully creating dog-friendly spaces.

Architects and interior designers have a unique perspective on why a canine companion, especially an emotional support animal, has proven to be a valuable contributor to the health and wellbeing of those who live and/or work under high-stress conditions. When it comes to designing residential and live/workspaces for clients who share their place in the world with dogs, it is obvious that the design team would need a good handle on what allows for creating practical, attractive, and enduring dog-friendly spaces. However, unlike other aspects of the design professions, there are few sources—and opportunities to share in conversations—regarding how best to do so.

What environment is best suited to bring a puppy into? What allows a mature four-legged member of a household to feel most comfortable and secure at home? How to pick up on signs that a canine companion is suffering from an unhealthy environmental condition? The goal of this dog-loving designer event is to raise awareness about the best techniques and materials that are available for creating dog-friendly residential architecture, finishes, and furnishings.

Speakers:
Elaine Santos, Principal, Elaine Santos Design
Christopher Gardner, Principal TUNA Architecture
Colin Hunter, Canine Trainer, Dogtown

About the Speakers:
Elaine Santos, Principal of Elaine Santos Design might be best known for her high-end interiors filled with color and texture, but experimenting with canine-friendly materials has been embedded in her repertoire since the start. Santos is a dog-lover designer. Her firm works collaboratively with architecture practices across the nation. her appreciation for sustainable design has led her to be an invited panelist at design conference and forums hosted by Interior Design magazine and Luxe magazine. 

Christopher Gardner is founder of TUNA Architecture, an award winning design firm focused on projects with atypical clients and atypical programs. He is also an adjunct design professor, most recently at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. He shares in the care of his Shih Tzu named Toby.

Colin Hunter is part of the Dogtown team of New York City. They are cannine behavioral trainers and caregivers who teach people how to understand, care for, and communicate with their adoptive canine companions, such as how create to relaxed playtime experiences. Colin's six dogs were all rescues  who were either abandoned or were on the euthanization list for fear-based aggression issues.