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| Animal Shelters / Boarding |
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Heritage Humane Society - Williamsburg, VA
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Located in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia, the original Project Program called for a 22,000 square foot, two-level animal shelter. The photographs below demonstrate rfa's ability to value engineer a Project in order to meet a specific budget. The animal shelter is home to the Heritage Humane Society and James City County Animal Control. The shelter is designed to be built in three phases. Phase 1, depicted below consisting of approximately 9,000 SF, includes separate runs for adoptable dogs and stray dogs and adoptable cats and stray cats.
An “Interactive Corridor” runs through the center of the facility as an internal spine. The Interactive Corridor provides educational opportunities for the public to learn about adoption, proper pet care, to view selected animals, to help enhance and facilitate adoption and in general, to make visiting the shelter a fun and enjoyable experience. Functioning as bright, sun-filled anchors at either end of the Interactive Corridor, a sky-lit indoor/outdoor exercise yard is provided for the dogs at one end and a sky-lit cat play and socialization porch is provided at the other end. Phase 2 will include Administrative Offices and a Spay/Neuter Clinic on the Second Floor. |
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| Several years ago, as chair of a committee of the board of directors of the Heritage Humane Society in Williamsburg, VA, I recommended to the board that we procure the services of Warren Freedenfeld to design our new animal shelter. This choice was made after our committee, which included a local architect, invited a presentation from another specialist in this field, and after we had made a survey of new shelters in Virginia that were designed by non-specialists.
(Everything we discovered in our survey persuaded us that costly errors and inefficient design would result from choosing a non-specialist.) To accommodate a very difficult site donated by the city of Williamsburg, as well as the co-location of our non-profit organization with the Animal Control function of James City County, Warren presented several imaginative designs. He was then very responsive to special requests from us and from the county that resulted from his presentation, and returned with a design that we thought was admirably suited to our needs and our pocket-book. Subsequent problems resulting from the tremendous rise in cost of materials, a local building boom, and unexpected and expensive site restrictions imposed by local government planners, prompted Warren to modify the plan further. Throughout the process, Warren has been available, understanding, and responsive. I wish I could say that I have been as calm and patient with the problems that have arisen from the drawn out, site-approval process as he and his project manager have been. Warren’s pleasant personality is not a façade that disappears once the design is complete. Finally, Warren’s team is equally professional, and has guided us to ground breaking by what many regard as one the best contractors in the area. We are fully confident that Warren, his project manager and their associates will guide us surely through the labyrinth of issues that arise during construction, and that the result will be a long lasting building, efficient in function and distinctive in design |
| Pamela Johnson Heritage Humane Society |
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23101 Moulton Pkwy #106 Laguna Hills, CA 92653