Replacing a five-acre Arizona Dept. of Transportation emissions station in central Phoenix, this animal shelter and veterinary clinic provides temporary animal rescue boarding and medical assistance. Completed in April 2020 for $22 million, the 40,000-sq-ft, nonprofit campus features nine buildings that house up to 245 dogs and 200 cats, surgical suites, an orphan kitten nursery, a grooming facility, walking paths, outdoor recreation space, obstacle courses and a bone-shaped play pool. Shelter animals are ready for adoption only when they have been medically and behaviorally cleared by the staff.

The need to prevent disease transmission within the kennels was a central challenge. Each kennel has its own drains and associated piping and venting, but the design-build team found a way to reduce underground piping, thus cutting costs. A sophisticated air-distribution system allows kennels to be zoned separately to reduce the spread of airborne diseases. Many Arizona construction companies provided in-kind donations, and the project was completed with zero injuries.

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