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CALGARY HUMANE SOCIETY

  • year                        2005
    location                  CALGARY, AB  CANADA
    client                      CALGARY HUMANE SOCIETY
    project credit          KASIAN
    photo credit            ROBERT LEMERMEYER
    gross floor area      4,000 m2  [43,056 ft2]
    approx. cost            $
    role                         DESIGNER + GRAPHICS + COORDINATION + PRODUCTION
     
  •  
    "We are planning the facility to be educational, uplifting and a place where people can come and just be around animals."
    Cathy Thomas  [Executive Director - Calgary Humane Society]
  •  
    PROJECT DESCRIPTION
     
    The focus of the Calgary Humane Society project is to provide an animal centered facility.  Our attempt to see and experience a dog, cat or bird's world is the catalyst for the design.  This was based on the Society's desire to remove stress from the animal's every experience and create a place where people and animals can interact on multiple levels.
  • The building is cleanly subdivided to produce the most efficient, organized and sanitary environment for both people and the animals who inhabit the spaces.  All parts are joined along a central axis which cuts through the site from north to south.  Different Nodes Exist along the path and are defined by a cedar slat element:

    SIGNAGE - connection to the street.
    CANOPY / BENCH - transitory place for owners and pets to calm their nerves before continuing inside to reception and adoptions holding.
    PAVILION - provides resting space and views which extend the building beyond the defining site.

    The long rectilinear massing forms each have a specific material palette which were thought to be more like separate skins.  A diamond shaped aluminum shingle is covering the cube which houses the shop and the training area.  Bricks protect the long tall form from the elements.  People generally coincide with this area.  Galvalum finished corragated steel cover the remaining protruding forms.  The animals are found in these areas.  Althought not LEED credited the Humane Society building uses high efficient air handling and natural light to provide a clean and comfortable space for the animals.  Glass replaces bars for cages which provide optimal housing and sound control.
  •  
    LEVEL 1 PLAN
  •  
    LEVEL 2 PLAN