City of San Antonio Animal Care Services Team Prepares for Growth: Campus Master Plan and Shelter Medicine Clinic.

Animal Care, Architecture, Civic, Planning

Over recent decades, ACS has developed strong community awareness around animal welfare. Successfully guiding local animal welfare policy, ACS has prioritized adoption and compassionate care for abandoned pets in the metro area. We are proud to help advance the next phases of growth for ACS, meeting the future needs of our vulnerable animal population through spay/neuter and adoption services.

We have collaborated closely with staff to balance operational efficiency with design of a welcoming, safe, and uplifting sense of place.

Billy Lawrence, AIA

Master Plan Analysis and Veterinary Hospital
Our project for Animal Care Services for the City of San Antonio consists of a master plan analysis and conceptual design of the campus over a projected 20-year growth period as well as the design of a new state-of-the-art veterinary hospital. In addition to the hospital building, future buildings for the master plan include new kennel buildings, a field operations building, a shelter/warehouse building, an expansion/addition to the administration building and animal placement counseling additions to the existing kennels.

Vet Hospital to Facilitate Intake, Spay/Neuter, and Adoption
Following the completion of the master plan we were contracted to program and design their new veterinary hospital, including the remodel/adaptation of the existing clinic to serve as support for the new hospital. During the programming phase, the floor plan was organized into three distinct areas based on the client’s operation needs: a surgery suite, medical treatment areas and field operations intake. One major goal was to maintain direct visibility to exterior courtyards and access to daylighting throughout the building. This was accomplished by strategically placing perimeter ribbon windows and a central clerestory that filters light through the surgery prep, surgery and animal holding spaces. The medical and field operations intake wings of the building create connectivity through interior transparency and direct site lines to existing interior campus courtyards.

Prioritizing for Both People and Pets
In every shelter facility, we prioritize people as well as pets. A key strategy for an optimal working environment is to incorporate courtyards as part of the architecture. Outdoor “rooms” create relaxed settings for socialization, training, and for meet-and-greets with potential adoptive families. Incorporating biophilic design enhances wellbeing within the workplace: medical spaces within the new clinic are designed with views to the landscape and sky, allowing a stress-relieving visual break from focused surgical work.