And the Merit Award goes to

Maybe there's a Taj Mahal or two, but there are hospitals, big or small, to appeal to the sensibilities of just about any veterinary design geek.

Here's the lowdown on the six Merit Award winners of the 2016 Veterinary Economics Hospital Design Competition. Keep an eye out for fantastic, tip-filled, interactive articles and glorious color photographs in the coming months right here on dvm360.com and in print in dvm360 magazine. And watch for the special Hospital Design Supplement coming in June 2016 dvm360 magazine for more tips, tricks and ideas from all of this year's winners that you can steal to implement in your future projects.

Now enough with our boring introduction speech. Let's tear open the envelopes!

Austin Veterinary Emergency & Specialty Center, Austin, Texas

Owner(s): Don Hulse, DVM; Lindsay Vaughn, DVM; Brian Beale, DVM; Wayne Whitney, DVM; Heidi Hottinger, DVM; Randy Longshore, DVM; Ryan Buck

Number of doctors: 14

Exam rooms: 9

Total cost: $2,681,722

Building cost: $1,311,404 (building only; excludes land purchase, landscaping, parking lot, etc.)

Square footage: 11,081

Structure type: Leasehold conversion

Bigger Road Veterinary Center for Pet Health and Enrichment, Springboro, Ohio

Owner(s): John Talmadge, DVM; Elizabeth Blacklock, DVM; Conan Crocker, DVM, DABVP; Allison Crocker, DVM

Number of doctors: 8

Exam rooms: 8

Total cost: $1,274,713

Building cost: $831,922 (building only; excludes land purchase, landscaping, parking lot, etc.)

Square footage: 9,105

Structure type: Leasehold conversion/interior fit out

Andover Animal Hospital, Andover Township, New Jersey

Owner(s): Harvey E. Hummel, DVM

Number of doctors: 3

Exam rooms: 5

Total cost: $2,110,500

Building cost: $1,265,000 (building only; excludes land purchase, landscaping, parking lot, etc.)

Square footage: 8,034

Structure type: Freestanding conversion

Veterinary Associates of Cape Cod, South Yarmouth, Massachusetts

Owner(s): Thomas Burns, DVM

Number of doctors: 7

Exam rooms: 8

Total cost: $3,178,839

Building cost: $1,600,000 (building only; excludes land purchase, landscaping, parking lot, etc.)

Square footage: 8,234

Structure type: Freestanding addition/alteration

Finan Animal Hospital, Darien, Illinois

Owner(s): April Finan, DVM

Number of doctors: 1

Exam rooms: 4

Total cost: $376,153

Building cost: $312,735 (building only; excludes land purchase, landscaping, parking lot, etc.)

Square footage: 2,950

Structure type: Leasehold conversion

Tryon Equine Facility, Columbus, North Carolina

Owner(s): Anne Baskett, DVM, Bill Hay, DVM; Rich Metcalf, DVM

Number of doctors: 8

Exam rooms: 5

Total cost: $3,146,383

Building cost: $2,336,751 (building only; excludes land purchase, landscaping, parking lot, etc.)

Square footage: 16,413

Structure type: New freestanding