Architektur für die Katz / Arcatecture

A Swiss Speciality: home-made cat ladders

Creative architecture and striking constructions: from zig-zag steps to the most attractive spiral staircases

Cat ladders from a sociological, architectural and aesthetic point of view

They come in all shapes and sizes, above all in Switzerland: home-made cat ladders. Some consist of just a wooden board, others are complex scaffold-like constructions rising up in a zig-zag way over four storeys. One happy cat even has a tiny winding staircase.

Taking the City of Berne as an example, Brigitte Schuster’s photographs show a variety of cat ladders in the context of their surrounding architecture. On closer inspection of these cat ladders it is possible to recognise sociological, architectural and aesthetic peculiarities which are further developed in an accompanying text.

This wonderful photographically-illustrated book on a cat-related theme that is rarely treated invites readers to look and wonder. At the same time, it provides information and worthwhile insight, and serves as a guideline and source of inspiration.

About the author:
Brigitte Schuster (*1976) is a graphic designer focussing on typography and script. She is also an author, lecturer and photographer. She lives and works currently in Berne.

Ein wundervolles - auch ein bisschen nerdiges - Buch für KatzenliebhaberInnen und Architekturfans. (Sarah Herwig, SRF2 Kultur Kompakt, 28.5.2020)