Animal Refuge Centre / Arons en Gelauff Architecten

Architects: Arons en Gelauff Architecten
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Design Period: 2004-2006
Construction period: 2006-2007
Programme: dogs and cats kennels, offices, facility spaces
Client: Project Management Bureau Amsterdam, Stichting Dierenopvangcentrum Amsterdam
Architectural Team: Adrie Laan, Rianne Kreijne, Joost van Bergen, Miren Aramburu, Mariska Koster, Claudia Temperilli, Oliver Rasche
Landscape Architect: DRO Amsterdam, Ruwan Aluvihare
Contractor: BAM, Amsterdam
Architectural Engineer: Van Rossum, Amsterdam
Building Physics: DGMR, Arnhem
Installation Engineer: W+R installaties, Utrecht
Budget: 4.100.000 EURO (US $6.33 millions)
Constructed Area: 5.800 sqm
Photographs: Luuk Kramer

The two Amsterdam animal refuges in Amsterdam have been amalgamated - the new-built is the largest pound in the Netherlands. The plot is in the city fringe, an apparently impossible wedge of cake. The “comb model” usual for this function consists of a long service corridor, with a repetition of kennels at right angles to it, separated by small outside spaces. This model is dominated by railings and the look of it closely resembles a prison.

We have had the service corridor and the kennel corridor converge in the Amsterdam Animal Rescue Centre. This creates a long, thin ribbon building. This building is folded like a ribbon along the waterway around the plot. Inside this, two large play spaces for the animals have been created.

The building faces inwards in order to reduce excessive noise levels (barking!) for the neighbours. In the high part of the building, the cat accommodation is located above the dog kennels as an extra sound buffer for the outside world. The central position of the entrance lobby determines the final form - a fluid object. Its hide is a pixel version of the grass on the old dike next to the location.