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
| Apr 19, 2011
Is a building sustainable if it kills birds?
Migratory birds were flying into the windows and falling, dead or injured, to the foot of the LEED-Platinum FBI building in Chicago. The FBI building isn't the only LEED-certified structure to cause problems for migratory birds, however. Some of the more than 33,000 LEED-certified buildings in the U.S. use large amounts of glass to bring in natural light and save on energy—and all that glass can confuse birds.
| Apr 14, 2011
U.S. embassies on a mission to green the world's buildings
The U.S. is putting greater emphasis on greening its worldwide portfolio of embassies. The U.S. State Department-affiliated League of Green Embassies already has 70 U.S. embassies undergoing efforts to reduce their environmental impact, and the organization plans to increase that number to more than 100 by the end of the year.
| Apr 13, 2011
Southern Illinois park pavilion earns LEED Platinum
Erin’s Pavilion, a welcome and visitors center at the 80-acre Edwin Watts Southwind Park in Springfield, Ill., earned LEED Platinum. The new 16,000-sf facility, a joint project between local firm Walton and Associates Architects and the sustainability consulting firm Vertegy, based in St. Louis, serves as a community center and special needs education center, and is named for Erin Elzea, who struggled with disabilities during her life.
| Apr 12, 2011
Miami courthouse design does justice to children and the environment
Suffolk Construction broke ground recently for the Miami-Dade County Children’s Courthouse, a $328 million project the firm has a 30-month contract to complete.
| Apr 5, 2011
Zaha Hadid’s civic center design divides California city
Architect Zaha Hadid is in high demand these days, designing projects in Hong Kong, Milan, and Seoul, not to mention the London Aquatics Center, the swimming arena for the 2012 Olympics. But one of the firm’s smaller clients, the city of Elk Grove, Calif., recently conjured far different kinds of aquatic life when members of the City Council and the public chose words like “squid,” “octopus,” and “starfish” to describe the latest renderings for a proposed civic center.
| Mar 11, 2011
Construction of helicopter hangars in South Carolina gets off the ground
Construction is under way on a $26 million aviation support facility for South Carolina National Guard helicopters. Hendrick Construction, the project’s Charlotte, N.C.-based GC, is building the 111,000-sf Donaldson Hangar facility on the 30-acre South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center, Greenville.
| Mar 8, 2011
Afghan village in New Mexico desert wins job order contracting award
The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology saved three months and at least $300,000 building a replica of an Afghan village and marketplace for anti-terrorism training in Playas, N.M. With clients registered to use the facility before construction began, its owner chose job order contracting because work could begin quickly and a proven contractor working on another project could be used.
| Feb 22, 2011
Military tests show copper increases HVAC efficiency, reduces odors
Recent testing, which is being funded by the Department of Defense, is taking place in military barracks at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. Side-by-side comparisons demonstrate that air conditioning units made with copper suppress the growth of bacteria, mold, and mildew that cause odors and reduce system energy efficiency.