Architectural design is a beautiful thing. It turns a building from a potential box in which we work into a piece of art, and if done right, it facilitates function and creativity and utilizes the space to its greatest potential.
Alexandria-based Cole & Denny Architects were the architects for the $8 million multiphase expansion and renovation project for the Fairfax County Animal Shelter on West Ox Road that wrapped up in 2014. It brought additional space in the main foyer/reception area, increased shelter capacity and addednew community education and administrative spaces and additional rooms that provide state-of-the-art pet admission and adoption services.
But many may ask: Why put such thought and effort into a building for animals?
“Is the real question, why are animals so important in our culture?” asks Mike Detomo, one of the principal construction administrators of the project. “A successful project, architecturally, isn’t just a project that looks good. It has to be a project that aesthetically means something, and it has to be a project that the users can successfully use. You have a shelter and its dedicated staff, and the staff has been able to increase adoption rates, quicken turnover rates and all around receive an award saying this is the best shelter of its size for this region—that really says that the design got it there.”
Cole & Denny Architects partnered with The Bacon Group based out of Clearwater, Florida, a firm Detomo says focuses on animal-care facilities among other public-sector projects. The four-phase process the shelter went through for the renovation was paid for by a county bond and kept the shelter open during construction. Along with bringing in additional spaces for workers, the community and the pet residents, the design also incorporated eco-friendly practices in an extremely thoughtful way. A perfect example of this is the lighting features throughout the building.
The ceiling throughout, with the exception of the lobby, has tubular daylighting devices (think a fancy skylight). Detomo calls them “a prismatic skylight” located on the roof that funnels sunlight into a duct and channels it down and into a light fixture. “If you aren’t paying attention, it just looks
like lights, but it is the sunlight. It allows all of the sunlight to come in but not the heat,” he says, adding that the devices have an efficiency rating of 98 percent. During the day the building is lit by these devices with the regular lights programmed to turn on at nighttime or incrementally depending on how much sun is coming into the building. “This whole concept is really daylight harvesting combined with energy saving and comfort,” Detomo says of the 110 devices in the building. He adds it is the most the firm has ever installed in a building—“my understanding from the manufacturer is that it is the most either in the state or in Northern Virginia in one building.”
So again, why all this thought for a building for animals?
Detomo says: “It’s not all the design; it’s the dedicated staff, too. But without the design, they can’t even begin their task. It makes a difference aesthetically; it makes a difference functionally. This is part of the community. They offer classes for training, community rooms for meetings. They offer community welfare for animals. This shelter has real value in the community.
“I don’t know if there is a building we cannot be thoughtful about. This is especially important because we’re talking about the care of animals, of pets, of things that have great importance and weight in our society today and make a difference in people’s lives.”
