This consolidated animal care campus serves the animal sheltering and adoption needs for the Las Vegas Valley. The project includes expanded adoption facilities for dogs, cats and large animals, an animal wellness center and veterinary education center.

The dog adoption park houses adoptable dogs in groups of 10–12 within a community of 22 bungalows. Beyond fulfilling the basic programmatic requirements, the team set out to accomplish three goals: improve the quality of life for the animals being sheltered, present the animals in an innovative and dignified manner to improve their chances for adoption, and reflect the client’s vision of environmental responsibility.

Sustainable strategies cultivate the prevalent environmental resources and utilize them to satisfy over 65 percent of the campus’ energy needs. Tall air exhaust chimneys that also serve as an iconic symbol for the facility augments the cooling and ventilation of the bungalows. Large canopies that support photovoltaic cells provide shading in the park between the adoption areas. One of the most salient new technologies employed at the campus is a living machine that treats wastewater for reuse onsite and reduces by 50 percent the amount of water needed to meet the demands of the facility.

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This project received LEED Silver certification and it was the first LEED certified building in Las Vegas. The American Institute of Architects honored the campus as one of the country’s top 10 green projects for 2006. Newsweek recognized the development as one of the greenest building projects in the US.