Animal shelters have come a long way from the days when, for many cats, dogs, and other animals, they were little more than waystations to euthanasia.
Case in point: the 37,000-sf County of Santa Clara Animal Services Center, which opened last month on eight acres in San Martin. Calif., represents the current era’s more humane approach to caring for abandoned or in-need creatures.
Designed by Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture in collaboration with the Florida-based animal care designer Bacon Group, and constructed by XL Construction, the Center allows the county’s animal care team to double, to 8,000, the number of pets it can care for annually. The building features advanced medical clinics, cat “condos” and dog “dorms,” specialized outdoor rehab space, and emergency shelter capacity for community pets.
IN THE WORKS FOR 10 YEARS
The Center is the only shelter in the county that takes in livestock. Its history of care includes adoption and volunteer programs.
The County’s previous animal shelter in San Martin was in an expanded, repurposed farmhouse built 40 years ago. But even the older shelter had a 95% live release rate, ranking it at the top among public shelters in California. With its new Animal Services Center, the County is committed to saving all animals, even when the shelter is full. The Center is “open admission,” meaning all animals are accepted from County service areas, regardless of temperament and condition.
The County and its Building Team have been planning and working on this project for more than a decade. The county’s board of supervisors approved the contract with Dreyfuss + Blackford Architecture in February 2017. In June 2018, the board awarded a $31,452,406 CM at Risk contract to XL Construction with 240 calendar days of preconstruction and 580 days of construction. The County subsequently increased the guaranteed maximum price of the project by $3,917,669, and the construction phase was completed in 18 months.
READY FOR ANIMALS OF ALL SIZES
The Center's design was informed by principles for healthier buildings, energy efficiency, and minimizing animal anxiety.
The design of the new Center in San Martin draws from WELL Building principles, LEED green building standards, and Fear Free anti-anxiety concepts for pets. The facility includes a medical expansion for advanced veterinary care clinics with exam rooms, radiology, surgery, and recovery suites. Its amenities include a 2,500-sf barn with 10 stalls and extensive pastures that are among the few facilities in the region outfitted to shelter and rehabilitate large livestock. An indoor/outdoor community meeting space can accommodate up to 300 people for events.
XL’s contributions to this project included the application of advanced safety and disease control methods such as zoned air flow and sophisticated trench drain and chemical washdown systems. XL built with durable specialty materials—such as polished and sealed concrete and epoxy-coated floors, structural glazed tile and block walls, plastic toilet partitions, and Caesarstone countertops—that require little maintenance outside of regular topical cleaning.
Related Stories
| Feb 3, 2013
Clever engineering helps create design excellence
A mechanical engineering team overcomes numerous hurdles to help make a new federal courthouse in Iowa a showpiece of ‘government work’ at its best.
| Jan 31, 2013
More severe wind storms should prompt nationwide reexamination of building codes, says insurance expert
The increased number and severity of storms with high winds nationally should prompt a reexamination of building codes in every community, says Mory Katz, vice president, Verisk Insurance Solutions Commercial Property, Jersey City, N.J.
| Jan 30, 2013
RSMeans cost comparisons: parking structures, town halls, community centers
Construction market analysts from RSMeans offer construction costs per square foot for four building types across 25 metro markets.
| Jan 22, 2013
Virginia State Police Completes New Driver Training Complex
The Virginia State Police begins driver training at a new $27.4 million complex near Fort Pickett; construction of a new firing range is set to begin this spring.
| Dec 15, 2012
SAIC makes ready to lay off 700
SAIC, McLean, Va. (2011 construction revenues: $185,390,000), said it plans to cut its workforce by 700 employees in order to remain competitive in the federal market.
| Dec 9, 2012
AEC professionals cautiously optimistic about commercial construction in ’13
Most economists say the U.S. is slowly emerging from the Great Recession, a view that was confirmed to some extent by an exclusive survey of 498 BD+C subscribers whose views we sought on the commercial construction industry’s outlook on business prospects for 2013.
| Nov 11, 2012
Greenbuild 2012 Report: Government & Military
Public sector remains a bastion of sustainability
| Oct 12, 2012
Joint venture to manage construction of U.S. State Department's Foreign Affairs Security Training Center
The project will establish a center for training in a variety of security disciplines within the U.S. Department of State for the protection of diplomats and U.S. embassies abroad.
| Oct 4, 2012
2012 Reconstruction Awards Platinum Winner: City Hall, New York, N.Y.
New York's City Hall last received a major renovation nearly a century ago. Four years ago, a Building Team led by construction manager Hill International took on the monumental task of restoring City Hall for another couple of hundred years of active service.
| Sep 12, 2012
Harvesting new ways to eliminate waste at the USDA
After installing 20 high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryers in restrooms throughout the USDA headquarters; the USDA reports seeing an immediate 50% reduction in the use of paper towels.
