Hale County, with its seat in Greensboro, Alabama approached the Rural Studio in mid 2005 asking them to provide the design and labor for a new animal shelter for the County. The project was taken on by a small thesis group. The County had a legal obligation to provide an animal shelter for its citizens but had no resources to undertake such a scale of project. The Rural Studio with its educational motivation was able to help them undertake the project.
For the County, wild dogs and strays are a huge problem and have curtailed the number of sheep and lambs being farmed over the last 20 years.
The initial phase of work was helping the County understand its legal obligations and the potential pit-falls of providing such a facility. This work took the first 6 months of the students endeavor.
Having begun to understand the resources and program necessary the students were challenged to explore a unique structural system called a lamella, that would allow them to build a long span structure our of short members of conventional off-the-shelf lumber. The challenge to the County was to witness such a big building not being built out of steel. All the pieces are bolted together, sheathed with 1x4s and then covered in corrugated galvanized aluminum.
This unique structure houses 16 dog pens that are sandwiched between two enclosed conditioned spaces for the administration and treatment of sick animals. The structure is open to the elements and naturally illuminated and ventilated. There is no light at night to allow the animals to sleep in darkness and the floor has under-floor heating to keep the animals warm in winter.
