The City’s new Animal Adoption Center and future dog park occupies a five acre site that is surrounded on the north and east sides by Community Park, on the west side by a residential development, and on the south by a large church. Although the site was primarily flat, there was a significant steep grade drop-off across the northern side of the site. Because of the adjacent neighbors, the site presented several design challenges, however, at the same time it offered some unique design opportunities.

One major challenge involved how to plan and design an animal adoption center and a future dog park in a manner that would not create noise and traffic problems for the surrounding areas.

The design solution to this problem was based upon using the unique site features and characteristics to help alleviate potential noise issues. The solution was to design the south exterior wall of the Animal Adoption Center into the side of the hill where the site drop off occurred. This solution would enable the earth to help buffer the noise that escapes from the kennels. As an added benefit, the thermal mass of the earth drastically reduces heat gain on the building’s southern exposure. The combination of and strategically placed operable windows, used for natural ventilation, resulted in an very energy efficient design.