Photo gallery: Trends in veterinary hospital design
The savvy editors at Veterinary Economics are seeing more of these design elements. Here's input from expert veterinary architects about how to jump on the bandwagon.
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The trend: creative pharmacy design
The trend idea is more thought being given to creative design in the Pharmacy Area.
Photo by Dan Chapel, AIA
The Trend: two sided pass through
The Renfro two-sided pass-thru between Pharmacy and Treatment gives great access and is a real “step saver.”
Photo by Dan Chapel, AIA
The trend: open storage
The open storage at Antioch gives “constant and instant” inventory of drugs and supplies and makes them very accessible to doctors and staff.
Photo by Dan Chapel, AIA
The trend: more with less
Since the 2008 economic meltdown our firm has focused on a design mantra of “Doing more with less.” More hospital in less square feet, more services with less staff, more bang for less buck. Dollars just have to go farther. Buildings have to serve clients, staff and ownership. This must be done without compromising our goals of improving practice image, efficiency, staff attitude, and services delivery. Building exteriors must be professional, regionally appropriate and financially responsible.
Photo by Wayne Usiak, AIA
The trend: more with less
These images illustrate many of those principles. Material choices, natural lighting, color and open plan layout all reinforce those goals.
Photo by Wayne Usiak, AIA
The trend: efficiency
Interiors must strive for efficiency of layout, openness, low maintenance and incorporate features that improve the healing and working environment.
Photo by Wayne Usiak, AIA
The trend: Solar energy
Solar energy systems are gaining wide acceptance, however applications for veterinary hospitals and other animal care facilities is limited by geographic region as well as demand. In fact, for most animal care facilities, it is more energy efficient to use roof area to heat hot water rather than generate electricity.
Photo by C. Scott Learned, MS, MBA, PE
The trend: Heating, cooling and dehumidification in a single package
Water sourced heat pump systems with hot gas reheat are among the most efficient and effective methods of conditioning a building. All animal care facilities in any climate should have dehumidification. This type of technology uses the same air conditioning system and compressor to heat or cool. And like a residential dehumidifier, it can use its own heat to dehumidify without the wasted energy of a conventional reheat coil.
Photo by C. Scott Learned, MS, MBA, PE
The trend: Ground sourced heat pumps
Ground sourced heat pump systems work by exchanging building heat with the ground. Many feet of piping is required along with a special type of installation. But the energy savings is substantial. The ground area required for a veterinary hospital application is often as large as the building itself. These systems are larger and more complicated than those for a similar sized residential or commercial building.
Photo by C. Scott Learned, MS, MBA, PE
