Welcome to the Shor-Line Blog!

 

At Shor-Line we have decades of Kennel Run design experience. This experience allows us to work closely with our customers to help design the best Kennel Run System for their particular facility.

Choosing a Kennel Run System can seem confusing at first glance, but with the right information this process can become less complicated. To help, we have developed a guide for the beginning stages of the process. Designed to give you the information you need to choose the specifics of your new Kennel Run System, this guide offers helpful tips, specifications and inspiration.

 

Within this guide you can expect to find:

• 6 Pre-Planning Considerations
• Pros & Cons of the 5 Standard Systems
• Component Details & Standard Sizes
• Material & Aesthetic Options
• Lead Time Information
• Kennel Run Systems in Use Gallery
• Choosing a Kennel Run System Checklist

 

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Have a question regarding our Kennel Run Systems? Feel free to contact us! Our knowledgeable sales and engineering staff have the answers you need.

 

 

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Landscaping the outside of your practice can pose problems—especially when your patients use those areas as dining rooms or bathrooms.

Before buying and planting any trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers, write down your potential picks and compare them with the lists of toxic and nontoxic plants compiled by the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC). To learn more visit the following links:

ASPCA | Toxic and Non-Toxic Plants

ASPCA | Plants and Trees

Filling your landscape with pet-friendly flora will keep pets safe. But what about the plants? To protect them from urine damage, implement one or more of the following strategies:

• Buy mature trees, shrubs, plants, and flowers, and plant them in clusters.
• Use raised planter boxes, and surround them with brick, rock, or wood.
• Create specific elimination areas using shredded wood or gravel.

 

Choosing the right doors for your hospital isn’t an open-and-shut case, so investigate your options.

Whether we’re turning a knob, pushing a handle, or triggering an automatic sensor, we go through hundreds of doors a day without a thought. But choosing the right doors for your hospital requires some planning. Wayne Usiak, AIA, founder of BDA Architecture in Albuquerque, N.M., and a Veterinary Economics Editorial Advisory Board member, urges practitioners to consider these factors when deciding on doors.

1. Cost
“As hospital budgets escalate, you need to save money where you can,” Usiak says. For this reason, hollow-core doors are fine in some areas, such as closets and other spaces that don’t need sound control and aren’t likely to take a beating—from the impact of a gurney, for example. In fact, every other consideration must be balanced against cost to ensure you get the doors you need without overshooting your budget.

2. Durability
The front door of a hospital opens and closes 100 to 200 times a day, Usiak says, and you don’t want to be constantly repairing it—which is what you’ll be doing if you opt for a residential entry door. He recommends installing aluminum storefront entry doors and frames because they’re long-lasting. You’ll also need to carefully consider your hardware choices for functionality, convenience, ADA requirements, durability, and aesthetics.

3. Sound control
Usiak uses drop seals and weather sealing to provide acoustic control in key areas, such as kennels and wards. The mechanized seals lower to the floor when doors are closed, creating a soundproof barrier. “But they add $100 to $150 to the door’s cost, so you must be judicious about which doors you select,” he says.

4. Viewability
Door windows are both a security issue and a practical consideration. A window makes sense for an isolation room or a rear delivery door so personnel can check on animals or see who’s on the other side without opening the door. But it’s best to use small windows in kennel doors because a glimpse of a friendly face can set off a barking frenzy. Although windows can diminish a door’s soundproofing, Usiak does not recommend acoustically controlled glass because of the prohibitive cost. A small window can minimize sound leakage while providing
viewability.

5. Appearance
Doors enhance a hospital’s attractiveness, but aesthetics must be balanced against practicality. For example, a raised panel door painted white might be perfect for your hospital’s country theme, but paint shows scratches. Stained flat-slab doors provide plenty of warmth to an interior while making scuffs and scratches less visible.

6. Unforeseen consequences
No matter how carefully you plan, you can’t always anticipate the outcome. For example, automatic front doors might seem like a great idea—until an escaped pet triggers the infrared sensor and bolts down the street. Or your light-colored door frames may look great—until frequent mopping turns them black. To avoid these scenarios, Usiak suggests hiring an architect with experience in veterinary hospital design.

Make clients feel comfortable and at home with these reception area design strategies.

You know that great feeling that spreads through your body when the sun comes out? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could give clients that same feeling when they step into your practice? Sal Longo Jr. and Michael Crosby of Crosby Longo Architecture Studio in New Orleans offer these tips to give clients a warm welcome:

• Smile. No design strategy can take the place of a friendly face behind the front desk. Make sure you have the right receptionist— someone who will greet people cheerfully, convey warmth, and open the door for clients who need a hand.

• Lighten up. A fresh coat of paint is an inexpensive, easy fix for your reception area. Lighter shades make the room seem brighter and more spacious, plus they show dirt, signaling when quick spot cleans are necessary, Longo says.

• Open up. If you’re designing from scratch, consider cathedral ceilings in your reception area and lots of glass on your facade, say Crosby and Longo. The airy feeling and natural light from windows create a pleasant environment. Even existing facilities can benefit from removing part of a wall to open up the space.

• Keep cats cozy. Cats, on the other hand—along with their owners—feel more secure in smaller, more enclosed spaces away from dogs. If you can, create a separate seating area with lower ceilings for cat owners, Crosby says. Keep the space free of nooks and crannies where feline escapees can hide if they bolt from their carriers.

• Make it feel like home. A hard, durable floor makes the most sense for obvious reasons, but that doesn’t mean you’re limited to industrial vinyl. Longo and Crosby encourage their clients to consider ceramic tile for the reception area. It’s a bit pricier, but it’s warmer and more homey—and still easy to clean. Another idea, especially important in the South, is to add ceiling fans, which stir the air and add nice visual detail overhead.

• Bring the outdoors in. Plants create a front porch atmosphere, which you can enhance by using durable outdoor furniture for your seating, Longo says. Just remember to choose nontoxic greenery in case some curious pet attempts a nibble. In addition, landscaping around the entrance provides a buffer between parking lot and hospital, shades the building in hot southern climates, and offers Buster a chance to take care of business before stepping inside.

Even if you do nothing else, your reception area can get a tremendous boost from new paint, surfaces, and lighting, Longo says. Small details, such as a hook at the checkout desk where clients can tie up their pets while they’re writing checks, also make people feel valued. If you create a homey, peaceful atmosphere in your reception area, your clients will experience that warm sunny feeling all year long.

Ease into the planning process by focusing on the necessities. Then you can take time to resolve the uncertainties.

By John McElhenny

Planning and building a new veterinary hospital takes months—even years—so it’s hard to know where to begin. Sometimes the best place to start is with the essentials—the design elements you can’t live without. In this article, Dan Chapel, president of Chapel Associates Architects in Little Rock, Ark., shares his top design essentials for new veterinary clinics. After designing 470 hospitals and kennels in the United States, his experience can help you create your own list of hospital must-haves.

1. An easily identifiable entry

Design an entrance that’s well marked and inviting. A porch or alcove, attractive landscaping, and sidewalks are great visual cues that direct first-time visitors to the proper entrance (Figure 1).

“I’ve seen hospitals that were like a maze to find the front door,” says Chapel. “Clients shouldn’t have to go on a wild goose chase dragging a cat carrier, a rottweiler, or three kids.”

 

2. An attractive, well-organized reception area

Clients’ first and last impressions of your hospital occur in the reception area. That’s why you want to incorporate top-quality lighting, plenty of color, and an eye-catching logo or piece of artwork on a wall behind the desk or elsewhere in the reception area. Chapel also recommends that you spend a little extra money for granite or marble countertops, especially since clients will actually touch those countertops when they write you checks.

In addition, make the reception counter the clear focus of the room, with separate, clearly marked areas for admissions and discharge. The worst picture you can present to clients is one of confusion and disorder. You’ll convey that impression if you have clusters of people milling around the reception desk, some paying their bills, others dropping off their pets, and another complaining about poor service.

3. Multiple seating areas
Once clients check in, they head straight to the waiting area. The best-designed waiting rooms are separated into alcoves by dividers, such as half-height walls or large potted plants (Figure 2). This allows clients to find their own comfort levels—away from a noisy child, for example.

 

4. A children’s play area
Clients are often faced with tough decisions, such as whether to euthanize a pet or approve a costly surgery. Imagine trying to make those decisions with a young child pulling at your leg. A play area in the waiting room occupies children and allows doctors and parents to talk without
interruptions.

 

5. A client convenience counter
Children aren’t the only ones vying for clients’ attention. With cell phones, busy clients can now take care of personal and professional business wherever they go.

Well-designed waiting rooms now include client convenience counters—out-of-theway desks that resemble library carrels. Equipped with a pen and notepad (imprinted with the hospital’s logo, of course), these counters allow clients to take notes during calls. Adding coffee or bottled water will impress your clients even more.

6. Uncluttered, modern exam rooms
What clients see in the exam room often determines what they think about the medical side of the practice. Dimly lit, smelly, and cluttered exam rooms will raise a red flag for any client.

“You could have the greatest reception area in the world, but if the exam room is messy, the client is going to think that’s what your practice is like,” Chapel says. He recommends a bright, clean, orderly exam room with a good ventilation fan. The exam room is also a great place to showcase high-tech equipment, such as an X-ray reader or exam light, because it shows clients you run a state-of-the-art practice.

 

7. Clean, well-ventilated animal housing
Don’t give animal housing short shrift just because people spend less time there. Instead, install well constructed runs; maintain bright, well-painted walls; and make sure the areas receive proper heating, cooling, and ventilation.

Some practice owners play videos in the waiting area to show clients the clean, pleasant conditions their animal housing offers. Others set up Web cameras so clients can see images of their pets online from a hotel in Paris or a vacation house on Cape Cod.

Of course, your idea of hospital essentials might not include Web cameras. You may prefer to order a lift table for one exam room instead. But once you decide what you must have, you can concentrate on resolving any design uncertainties.

Bring nature indoors and organize work space to promote teamwork and boost staff spirits.

Brought to you by Contributing Editor Richard M. Rauh, AIA, NCARB of rauhaus freedenfeld & associates.

If you’re a progressive practice owner, you recognize the importance of creating an employee friendly work environment. You strive to build a culture of trust and mutual respect, emphasizing teamwork, involvement and open communication, while trying to maintain a healthy work/life balance for everyone on your staff.

So you’ve carefully aligned all your human resources and management policies – virtually every aspect of your day-to-day operations – to achieve this goal. But there’s one element you may have overlooked: your hospital’s physical work space.



As an architect, I have collaborated with veterinarians for more than 26 years. I’ve learned that creating a sense of place is essential to shaping the culture of a practice. Employees will not only be happier, they’ll be healthier, too. A recent survey conducted by the University of San Diego found that workers in “green” buildings are more productive and call in sick less often.

By creating positive employee environments, worker retention is also enhanced. And if that’s not incentive enough, several studies show patients recover faster in “green” hospital buildings. A decrease in patient recovery time brings the potential for increased productivity, revenue and client satisfaction. How can you tell if your facility is employee-friendly? Ask yourself the following questions:

• Does your facility provide a sense of place that gives employees ownership of their work and empowers them to make a difference?
• How does your hospital’s design promote a spirit of unity and teamwork to boost morale and foster change?
• Does the design of the space reflect a sense of forward thinking and compelling vision for your staff?
• Does it evoke a sense of meaning and purpose for your employees’ specific roles in the practice?
• Is the practice pleasant to work in? Are the colors and spaces uplifting and emotionally friendly?
• What special employee amenities are there currently in the practice?
• Is the practice designed throughout with technological efficiency?
• Does the design incorporate “places of honor” by recognizing and celebrating employees’ accomplishments?
• Are there positive, interactive private indoor/outdoor conference areas of the hospital where principals can socially interact with employees to promote a sense of community?

Ironically, one of the most influential figures in designing employee-friendly work spaces is not an architect, but a scientist. We know that both human and animals respond to nature on a cellular level.

Harvard biologist Edward Wilson calls this psychological dependence on the natural world “biophilia”. It’s the love of nature, the human propensity to affiliate with other life forms. I’d argue that few humans exhibit this propensity more often or more passionately than veterinarians.



Design professionals instinctively want to bring the natural environment into our buildings through the use of natural daylight and exterior elements. Large windows, skylights, courtyards and faux trees are all ways of achieving this ingrained desire to be outdoors. When designing break rooms, we try to link them to an outdoor amenity, like a small patio or shade pavilion. This can serve as an alternative location for office meetings and employee appreciation events. We create a space for more social interaction, a place for people to bond.

Another bonding area is created by what we call the “fishbowl office”. This is strategically located within the treatment area. Doctors and technicians are able to make follow-up calls in a quieter environment, while still having visual control and monitoring of the treatment and CCU areas of the hospital. They can also talk about their caseloads, what’s happening and interact with each other on a more personal level.

Improved indoor air quality also makes for a more employee-friendly facility. In a highly sensitive indoor environment where the spread of bacterial and viral infections is a major concern, indoor air quality can have a significant impact on employees and their patients. Increasing outdoor ventilation rates in animal holding areas will help purge the building of odor and bacterial contaminants.

Another increasingly popular strategy is to install ultraviolet germicidal irradiation systems. These systems use ultraviolet light to kill or neutralize many microorganisms. These lamps can be installed directly in the mechanical system ductwork to help clean and sterilize the air.

With budgets strained and people re-evaluating their needs, animal care facilities must be designed to maximize efficiency by using the least amount of space and still provide for future growth. This can be a challenge, especially for smaller practices. When considering changes to my wife’s 2,600 square foot clinic, we measure by the square inch, not the square foot. It’s always a struggle to balance employee creature comforts with what is considered the hospital’s profit centers. But, in reality, even break rooms contribute to a practice’s bottom line when employees are incented to work harder and feel a sense of place that gives them a sense of authorship of their work.



The green movement has infiltrated our political, social and economic lives and is now catching on in the veterinary community. In the United States, buildings account for almost 40% of greenhouse gas emissions. Owners can have an enormous impact on the environment when they renovate or build a new animal care facility. Aside from being more energy efficient, green buildings provide great benefit to a practice in terms of marketing and employee retention.

But you don’t need to embark on a major renovation project to make an impact with your employees. Your staff will notice any physical improvements – even a fresh coat of paint - that are implemented with the purpose of making their work space more efficient, comfortable and, most importantly, happy.

Richard Rauh is a principal in the architectural firm of Rauhaus Freedenfeld & Associates

Brought to you by Contributing Editor Vicki Pollard of Animal Arts.

“It is the pervading law of all things organic, and inorganic, of all things physical and metaphysical, of all things human and all things super-human, of all true manifestations of the head, of the heart, of the soul, that the life is recognizable in its expression, that form ever follows function. This is the law.”

In 1896, Louis Sullivan coined the phrase “form ever follows function” more popularly known as “form follows function.” At the time, this new idea marked a huge shift in American architecture. It allowed the design of buildings to better respond to the functions/tasks that were carried out inside of them, instead of strictly following historical precedence. Louis Sullivan devoted his attention to both the exteriors and interiors of his buildings. He strongly believed that the exterior of a building should reflect its interior functions. He allowed the function of the spaces he designed to influence the overall layout of these spaces. 

What if we examined the layout of animal care facilities the same way? How would each room be designed when it follows its functional layout or purpose? There are vast differences between the functions of an MRI suite and a cardiology exam room. The functions or procedures you perform in your facility every day should influence the design of your building. Operations, equipment and personnel all provide us with insight into how these spaces could be designed. Here are a few examples:

Operations

Day-to-day operations can drastically influence the layout of your hospital. Some important areas that come to mind are x-ray rooms and boarding or large dog holding areas. In radiology something as simple as choosing to sedate animals while x-rays are taken can influence the design of the room. Sedating an animal and having a nurse or technician take the image outside the room demands a unique layout. A window or alcove directly outside the x-ray room is needed to view the patient while the x-ray is being taken. 

The operation of cleaning and maintaining runs or boarding areas also has an impact on the layout of a space. In our animal shelters we recommend using runs that are back-to-back with a guillotine door in-between so you can usher an animal to one side while you clean out the other side. Because of the necessary repetition of cleaning dog runs, it is important to make sure that the layout of this area is as efficient as possible. Using a high-pressure sprayer versus a standard hose can have an effect on your spatial layout. A high-pressure spray system has to have a dedicated area for the main equipment along with dedicated power. If you are using a standard hose and mop to clean, having sloped floors and individual floor drains in each room will significantly cut down on cleaning time and will decrease cross contamination between runs.

Equipment

Knowing what types of equipment are going to be installed into your facility up front will greatly aid in designing the functional layout of the space. There are numerous large ticket items, such as fluoroscopy, CT and MRI equipment, that if not decided upon early in the design process can end up increasing your construction budget. While it is easier to keep large items in mind, sometimes we lose track of smaller items that can also influence the efficient design of a space.  One example is the ultrasound machine that is used mainly by technicians to perform Cystocentesis. Think about the actual size of this machine, where it will be located in your treatment room when in use, and where it will be stored. 

The second piece of equipment that can easily be overlooked is the ventilator. In some emergency or high volume intensive care units there are a fair number of ventilator cases. We have found that in these special facilities it is extremely valuable to design in a designated vent alcove. Typically this is created in the corner of the main ICU or CCU space. It needs to be in a relatively quiet part of the room, where traffic is minimized.  If you cannot take up valuable floor space for this, then at minimum mount a flip-down table, exam light and medical gasses on the wall.

Personnel

The third element to think about for “form follows function” is personnel. This last item is pretty simple.  When laying out the various spaces in your hospital, think about how many and what types of people will be needed for specific procedures. The best example of this is a surgery room. In the most extreme case, such as at a teaching hospital, the operatories will need to be oversized to accommodate a surgeon, intern, surgery technician, anesthesia technician, and visiting observers. Things can get pretty tight if the space is not designed to accommodate all of these people. Video conferencing, where the actual surgical procedure is captured via live feed into a conference room, is another way of accommodating a larger group of people with the same end result. Boom arms that hold cameras in the surgery suite and the layout of the conference area are both aspects of the design that need to be well thought out.

There are three key components to keep in mind as you are designing your facility to ensure that the form truly follows the function of the space. If your facility’s design is dialed into these components – operations, equipment layout and personnel – then your space will work well for years to come.

Views into the Future: Communicating Design Intent Using 3D Modeling Techniques in Design & Construction Drawings  

Brought to you by Contributing Editor Richard M. Rauh, AIA, NCARB of rauhaus freedenfeld & associates.

Lessons Learned from History
When I was a youngster, I was very involved in building many things - from Pinewood Derby cars, plastic and wood model airplane kits - to tree house construction in my back yard. I also enjoyed drawing objects in three-dimension at a very early age. Not knowing at the time that it was my destiny to become an architect, I had come to appreciate and rely upon having the proper tools to build my models and other various fun projects.
 
What I also learned from my childhood model building experiences was to “look before you leap” by carefully reading the assembly instructions (which came inside each model kit) before attempting to put any/all of the various model parts together. I look back and think about what must have gone through those wonderful minds of the early Revell, Monogram and Aurora scaled model kit makers. They had to create an illustrated, step-by-step basis instruction guide (complete with 3D developmental assembly diagrams) that had to be simple (yet comprehensive enough) for a youngster to follow.

I remember hearing my Dad chuckle when I (at about 4 years of age) had erroneously referred to those scaled model “instructions” as “destructions.” I also remember my father’s credo “to measure twice and cut once” before proceeding with any assembly or cutting. This was a very simple rule which I faithfully follow today to create and accomplish architectural design in remembrance of my father and for the important lessons he taught me in life.
 
As architects, we learn from history and often look back to masters like the early Greeks and Romans to better understand the principles of balance and proportion. With the same purpose, I also look back at my early childhood scale model building days to understand how to better (and more clearly) communicate function, form and space. Today, as in the past, I find and utilize the best design communication tools available. There is a simple yet very clever and effective technique derived from those early Revell scale model kit guys. I like to simply refer to it as “3D Construction Illustration Modeling.”  It is truly a great “tool” to clearly communicate design intent to both our clients and contractors alike.

3D Construction Illustration Modeling  
Today, with new enhanced 3D Cad technology, we are taking our design development and construction drawings to a new industry level. We have basically emulated the principles derived from the 3D diagrammatic illustration techniques (similar to those early, scale model instructional pioneers) and incorporated them as “Pre-Construction Views” into our veterinary construction document drawings. We complement our 2D plans, sections and elevations with these supplemental 3D perspective and isometric model views to improve upon communicating design intent (to both the Owner and Contractor).

A View into the Future
Every new veterinary hospital we design is essentially a prototype – for each hospital has its own special features and space based upon specific user requirements. The conventional methods used by most architects today depict only 2D (plan, section and elevation) drawings views within their construction drawings to communicate design intent to their client and their builder (except for maybe a 3D perspective rendering on the cover sheet).
 
These conventional, “flat” two-dimensional, single-line drawings are often difficult for most people (with untrained eyes) to understand and thus totally appreciate how a space will actually look after it is built. 3D Construction Illustration Modeling is the bridge to enhance this understanding.
 
Another big advantage of using 3D construction illustration modeling to supplement our construction drawings is that it also serves to help clarify design intent with the various trades in the construction industry that will actually be “building” the project. This approach greatly reduces the time spent by a Contractor in understanding, coordinating and seeking further clarifications on some of our architectural joinery/detailing which in turn expedites quicker and smoother construction. Virtually everyone involved in the construction process benefits. We have experienced first-hand that this technological approach has already saved both our client’s and their contractor’s time (and money) by reducing clarifications, addendums and formal change orders. Furthermore, the faster an Owner receives his/her Certificate of Occupancy, the faster they can start booking appointments and generating a profit.

Getting the Picture
Incorporating both 2D drawings and 3D modeling into our construction document drawings just makes plain and simple “bottom-line” sense. Our clients greatly benefit with an enhanced and insightful sense of what their new spaces(s) and work environments will actually look like before it is constructed (right down to showing the medical light fixtures, LCD computer screens, microscopes, door handles, etc.).
 
The use of these pre-construction, 3D modeling tools make our job of communicating space both more natural and easily comprehendible, thus our clients become more confident in their design decision making process.

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Rauhaus Freedenfeld & Associates – Firm Profile
In 2005, the founders of two of America’s most respected animal care design firms joined forces to create an unrivaled synergy of expertise and creativity. rauhaus freedenfeld & associates (rfa) is the product of the strategic merger between Rauhaus Architects on the West Coast and Warren Freedenfeld & Associates on the East Coast. Founded in 1984 by Richard Rauh and in 1973 by Warren Freedenfeld, respectively, both firms earned national acclaim for their innovative designs. The fusion of these talents has put rfa on the map as one of the finest animal care architectural firms in the world.

Each of rfa’s principals has made an impressive mark in their field. Richard is well-known for his striking contemporary designs, while Warren is renowned for his skill in integrating comprehensive programming details into remarkable contextual architecture. Because of their pioneering contributions, the expertise of these seasoned architects is admired and in high demand. In addition to achieving a myriad of awards, they have lectured all over the world and published numerous articles in well-respected animal care and architectural journals.

If you are anything like the rest of America you are trying to get all the important information you seek and need in one place. You want it timely, accurate and unbiased. With this in mind we have invited industry professionals to be contributing editors on our blog.

In conjunction to our regular posts you will see architects, vet techs, shelter professionals and many others providing their industry knowledge. With the enhancement of our contributing editors to our blog we hope you find the Shor-Line Community a place where you can join the conversation, gain industry insight and contribute as well.

Next week our first article will be on the topic of "How To Ventilate a Cat Cage" by Vicki Pollard, AIA, CVT of Animal Arts. Vicki brings unique experience to Animal Arts with degrees in both architecture and veterinary technology. Prior to joining Animal Arts, Vicki worked as the Owner’s Representative during the construction of the Alameda East Veterinary Hospital campus.

Vicki has proven to have an almost unlimited capacity for keeping track of owner’s requirements, specialized medical equipment and design details on complex, large-scale veterinary specialty facilities.

She has worked on a variety of projects since joining Animal Arts including the Coral Springs Veterinary Hospital, VCA South Shore Animal Hospital, VCA Kaneohe Animal Hospital in Hawaii and VCA West Los Angeles Animal Hospital, a premier 42,000 square-foot specialty referral center.

Check back next week to learn "How To Ventilate a Cat Cage". Our blog articles are published through our social networks (Facebook and Twitter) in real time. Let us know what you would like to discuss!