In Conversation with Clients: WagWorks.
3rd November 2021
‘Their immersion in the project was amazing, they kept the dog at the heart of the design, and that really made a difference.’
In November 2019 we were approached by WagWorks, a new company looking to create a doggy day care with a difference, not only a luxurious and joyful space for your dog to go when you’re busy with everything else life throws at you, but also offering healthcare, grooming, enrichment, a community and training too. We took WagWorks through our design process, helping to define their brief and understanding how their brand and identity could be developed and translated into physical form, as well as exploring and evolving the physical and operational requirements for their future clubs.
We chatted with them in October 2021, just before works begin on site, to find out how they enjoyed the design process with us, what they’ve learned, and what they are excited about with the upcoming building phase, before the official launch of their first club in 2022.
What was your brief and motivation for the project?
The project really originated from observing the growing number of dogs in London and how the current inner-city care options were incredibly limited. Encouraged by the on-going humanisation of dogs that we’ve seen in recent years, we realised there was potential for the care sector to develop; owners need a practical, safe and joyful place where they can leave their loved ones, knowing they will be well looked after.
We realised we had a lot to learn to make this space as special & enriching as possible for our canine members, so we chatted to a variety of dog experts to learn and further understand canine needs and comforts, in order to formulate a full design brief.
Now we needed our architect, to design our members club for dogs! We knew of a really beautifully designed high end childrens club in Fulham and got in touch with the designer, Joanna Simpson, Director of Simpson Studio. We asked her for a design that was high end, but welcoming with a nursery feel. Apart from that we let her go wild as we were excited to see what she would come up with.
What have you enjoyed about the design process?
Once Simpson Studio were on board, the hard work between us really began. We were learning a lot about dogs and their needs very quickly, and Simpson Studio picked up all of this and were able to propel this learning through the design process. For example, dogs don’t like to meet head on, and some enjoy sleeping in elevated areas; Simpson Studio were able to integrate these requirements throughout the design to create practical space as well as being playful with the physical environment, and to use this understanding to form our physical brand identity. Their thorough research was really reflected in the design ideas and throughout they came up with an array of interesting options.
Did you learn anything new during the process that you found really interesting?
There is a lot. Our eyes really were opened to a whole new world of design. It’s interesting how you can marry architectural design with brand identity, using fun materials and types of joinery to create a recognisable brand.
We also quickly realised the value of the architect. Not only have they brilliantly translated our brief into a beautiful and purpose driven design, but have also given great planning and business advice in terms of which spaces and sites to go for. We looked at a few potential sites and thought we had found some good ones, but after Simpson Studio’s analysis of the spaces we ended up going for a different site, which has saved us a fortune.
The last thing to say is that the breadth and choice of materials to use is absolutely terrifying. It’s so easy to choose the wrong one, and it’s an impossible task to navigate. It made us feel so much more comfortable having that decision being made by Simpson Studio, and we were really pleased with the aesthetic feel they’ve created. We then just had to build in the practicalities of that, and we learnt that architects definitely learn faster than we do!
What are the extras that you think Simpson Studio brought to the table - how has working with a design house improved your project?
Firstly, Simpson Studio were so conscientious. There was so much work that went into the design that we didn’t see, we just saw the end results on a weekly basis, and really enjoyed seeing the design develop.
Because of that, there were so many brilliant ideas thrown in front of us, that really went above and beyond what we would have wanted or anticipated from an architect. Their emersion in the project was amazing, they kept the dog at the heart of the design, and that makes a difference.
They brought the idea of bespoke joinery for brand identity, which we wouldn’t have considered, as well as a curved corridor to aid a more comfortable movement. They brought practical thinking about how different aspects of the centre would fit and work together, to find the best possible configuration of the space.
One of our favourite design fixes was the challenge of not having dog owners in the indoor park as this would disturb the dogs & unsettle the dynamics within the park, but you also don’t want to shut them out completely and want them to be able to see and observe all the spaces in the club. Simpson Studio designed a half height glass entrance and a central forest walk providing layers of screening, that allows owners to see into the space but without disturbing the dogs, which we think will work really well.
What are you most looking forward to in the next stages of the project?
Getting stuck into the next site having learned so much on this one!
We’ve found the perfect architectural partners in this, it’s a long term partnership and their willingness to understand our vision and learn and adapt further is ideal. Having them alongside us has been great!