The Humane Society Adoption Facility

Our new facility for the Bexar County Humane Society/SPCA represents a revolutionary approach to the problem of animal shelter design, transforming the visitor experience from a bleak and depressing ordeal into a lively, fun and exciting interaction with animals available for adoption.

Designed to be a focal center for animal care issues and adoption in San Antonio, the planning ideas revolve around a group of buildings surrounding a landscaped park space where visitors can spend time in the open air with potential animal family members. Bleak prison-like building blocks associated with typical shelters have been rejected in this design response. Instead, the animal care areas are broken up into a campus of individual buildings with smaller sunlit spaces surrounded by play yards where animals can get daily exercise or visit with potential adoptive families.

Interior finishes mix durability with playful color, and animals are housed in room-size enclosures visible through glass walls. Familiar regional forms and materials are employed to create a friendly setting, with large overhanging roofs and vine-covered trellises providing shelter from the elements.

Designed to include spaces for evolving outreach programs such as pet care and dog training, the facility includes an education building and training yard, as well as space for other smaller charitable functions housing programs that support the Humane Society’s mission. In both in symbol and function this new courtyard-focused complex seeks to redefine the standard in San Antonio for responsible pet care and adoption.

Click to see the Wall Street Journal article "Animal Shelters Upgrade Creative Comforts" featuring the Humane Society/SPCA of San Antonio and Bexar County.

Client> Humane Society/SPCA of San Antonio and Bexar County
Construction Cost> $4 Million
Completion> November 2002