Case Study:
Meade County Animal Shelter

A municipal shelter located in Brandenburg, Kentucky.

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A 21st Century Shelter

The Meade County Animal Shelter is a municipal shelter located in Brandenburg, Kentucky. The shelter serves a community of over 30,000 residents in a rural county where Judge Troy Kok serves as the Judge Executive. In the state of Kentucky, Judge Executives serve as the senior executive responsible for managing county departments, overseeing the budget, promoting economic development, and more.

 

In his role as Judge Executive, he is heavily involved in overseeing the Meade County Animal Shelter’s development. Judge Kok shares, “Coming into Office, it was my goal to improve the animal shelter and ensure we moved the shelter into the 21st century.” And, with 37+ years of military service, Judge Kok is not new to the various phases included in construction and building projects.

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From Outdated and Overused

The existing animal shelter was built in 1978. With nearly 50 years of use, Judge Kok and the Animal Advisory Council were ready to update the animal care facility to ensure their animals receive the care they deserve, and employees have an appropriate work environment. They determined that a new site location, which will be a shared property alongside another municipal building, made the most sense for their future sheltering needs.​

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"The Best Qualified to Achieve Our Objective"

he Meade County team toured the Franklin County Humane Society, a 12,000 square foot animal shelter, for which Design Learned served as the interior planners and building systems engineering professionals.

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Judge Kok shares, “I saw the work that they had conducted and thought that they were the best qualified to achieve our objective.” After Judge Kok connected with the Design Learned team, Scott traveled to Kentucky to conduct a site visit, needs analysis, and review their existing facility. Judge Kok states, “Scott was very open minded and took interest in trying to solve our problems.”

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Integrated Community Feedback into the Design

 

As a municipal shelter, the feedback and concerns Meade County community members shared were important to Judge Kok and the team. Design Learned worked in partnership with the county to iterate and adjust designs appropriately while retaining critical engineering and animal care specific elements.

 

Through this collaborative process, the Design Learned team provided animal shelter insights and education into impacts of important building design decisions. Design Learned also helped Meade County field public comments and assist with specific questions about the project.

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A Phased Approach for Future Growth

The Meade County team decided to tackle the new shelter design and construction from a phased approach. From a budget perspective, they were ready to launch phase one of the project but knew in the future they would like to expand the facility. With this phased approach in mind, the Design Learned team of building experts and engineers designed the infrastructure of the building and site in such a way that would allow for easy expansion in the future. Considerations for a phased approach included:​

 

• Determining the minimum needs of the shelter for immediate use versus future requirements

• Ensuring the site utilities (water, sewer, electric) are properly sized for future phases of the project to avoid rework with each new phase

• Designing a floor plan that allows for space flexibility with future phases

• Creating a full building exterior while only developing a portion of the interior in phase one

• Creating a phase one building that allows for easy & logical future additions

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"Our Design Is Solid"

The Design Learned team completed several steps to design Phase One.

 

• Initial site visit

• Feasibility study

• Program

• Floor Plan

• Opinion of cost

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As the prime designer on this project through conceptual design, the Design Learned team not only handled the floor planning and systems engineering considerations but also provided architecture services for all the interior and exterior renderings of the proposed design.

 

When reflecting on the Phase One design, Judge Kok shares, “I believe our design is solid and will meet our requirements today and in the future.”

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Designing a Positive Experience for Animals and Staff

The Phase One design includes several elements essential to 21st-century shelters and ensures a positive experience for animals and staff.

 

• Ensured the animal spaces follow the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV) guidelines

• Increased the dog holding areas and ensured each was appropriately sized

• Designed separate holding areas for healthy animals versus those in isolation

• Ensured adequate storage

• Included a secure sally port

• Expanded office spaces for staff

• Included a small breakroom and volunteer workspace

• Integrated a lobby for the general public

• Designed separate areas for different species, including cats areas, dog areas, and small animal/exotic areas

• Included indoor/outdoor runs so that the dogs get fresh air to reduce staffing requirements

• Ensured adequate laundry facility

• Designed a grooming area

• Included a cat community room

• Expanded indoor meet and greet spaces

• Expanded food prep areas and placed them in proximity to the animals they serve

• Ensured appropriate circulation space throughout the building

• Designed for as much natural light in animal areas as possible

 

Phase One: Complete

With the conceptual design approved by the Meade County team, phase one of this building project was completed!

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The Design Learned Advantage​

The Expertise to Handle Unique Request

Judge Kok shares that one of the most valuable aspects of working with Design Learned on this project is, “their knowledge of animal shelter design and what works and what doesn’t.”​

 

As animal shelter experts, the Design Learned team has the expertise to respond to unique requests that may arise throughout the design process.​

 

• Design Learned supported the Meade County team in educating their community on animal sheltering standards essential to positive animal experiences.

• Design Learned worked collaboratively with the Meade County team and their Owner’s Representative to make project decisions.

• At the request of the Meade County team, Design Learned integrated a pre-engineered building into the design.

• Throughout the project, the Design Learned team made adjustments to the project scope and floor plan to align with county goals and community requests.

• To meet budget requirements and county goals, the Design Learned team leveraged their expertise to design the animal shelter in strategic phases.

 

Ready to renovate or build your shelter?

From coast-to-coast, animal shelters come to the Design Learned team for support because of common issues - from overcrowding, loud facilities, odor issues, expansion needs, bad locations, and stressful environments.

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With 25+ years experience in this industry, our team delivers specialized solutions to overcome any building challenges you may be facing.

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