Ruan Hao, Hangzhou-based architect.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Ruan found inspiration from toy blocks that children spend hours assembling.

CATable 2.0 is made of several wooden cube modules. Each cube, measuring some 40 centimeters in height, has cavities of varying shapes and sizes. People can group the cubes in the same way a child piles up toy blocks. The combinations create different walking routes for cats, and allows owners to turn the units into shelves, desks or other furniture.

"CATable 2.0 is not merely an improvement of 1.0. It has become an open system and users help complete the design. They can rearrange the modules to the utmost," Ruan says.

"Design has become more cross-disciplinary. Whether we design a building, the interior space or furniture, we are all attesting to users' emotional needs. We work with shared logic as long as our creation is about the city and life."