GuernseyTingle partnered with the City of Virginia Beach to address serious health and overcrowding issues cited by the State Veterinarian’s Office in the City’s former animal shelter. The team worked quickly to propose a viable design and construction solution that would provide a new home for the City’s Department of Animal Control and enhance the quality of life for not only the animals, but also the volunteers and staff charged with their care. The facility was also designed to encourage animal adoption by the residents of Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads.

The facility provides accommodations for over 350 animals, as well as a main lobby/adoptions area, a surrender/intake area, canine holding, feline holding, pocket pets/exotic pet holding, a surgical/veterinarian area, a sally port/receiving area, shelter administration, and animal control department.

The team paid particular attention to allowing for future expansion in the critical areas of sheltering and adopting animals. The design-build team’s approach to this functionality was to ensure that the building would remain fully operational during future expansions and that expansion related costs would stay within acceptable parameters. With this design, the facility can grow to house nearly two times the number of animals it can shelter today. The interior spaces have been generously sized to accommodate greater public attendance and staff support in the future as well.

The building has achieved LEED Silver certification and incorporated a geothermal heat pump system, energy recovery, rainwater harvesting, a solar hot water system, and an air barrier enveloping the entire structure to allow for better control of the interior environment.

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