On the heels of the unsurprising news that Austin is one of the most dog-loving cities in the country, it’s time once again to (cough) paws and celebrate our furry friends and family with what might be the city’s most popular design event.
Now in its 12th year, Austin’s Barkitecture event—an Austin Pets Alive benefit at which local and national architects, designers, and builders show off custom-designed dog house, takes place at Jo’s Coffee South Congress on Nov. 12.
Last year’s winners were the Austin Community College Architecture & Engineering Department, Newcastle Homes, and un.box studio, and past participants big-name local designers and builders such as Dick Clark and Associates and Luis Jauregui.
This year will feature works by Dick Clark and Associates again, as well as Carson Design Associates, Merriman Pitt / Anderson Inc, Kristin & Daniel Campos, GSC Architects, Mode Design Company, Smith Builders, Alex & Amanda Pettitt, Lightsey Two, Frontier Architects, Mark Odom Studio, Austin Community College, E.P. Hamilton & Associates, and Z & H Construction.
The event includes a designer doghouse auction, dogstume contest, a photo bus, face painting, silent auction, APA onsite with adoptable dogs, vendor booths, and a special barkitecture cocktail (which we can only hope involves bacon). Visit the Jo’s website for more information.
As far as that other news we mentioned up top: A report by Austin-based Sparefoot storage company, using information from WalletHub, Zumper, and Realtor sites, recently named Austin the country’s fifth most dog-friendly city. The report pointed to our high number of dog-friendly restaurants, dog parks and public parkland, and the highest proportion of pet-friendly apartment listings of any major city. It also gave shout-outs to Groovy Dog Bakery and dog food truck Bow-Wow Bones. Most important, perhaps, is that Austin is the largest no-kill city in the U.S., a status that Austin Pets Alive played a huge part in.