Small Animal Veterinary and Adoption Centre 'KIC' with Educational and Therapeutic Facilities

Gdańsk Technical University (Politechnika Gdańska), Faculty of Architecture, Gdańsk

Project idea

The idea of the project is to create a small animal veterinary and adoption centre with educational, therapeutic, social and natural facilities, with a particular focus on rabbits. The project responds to the problem of the lack of specialised and comprehensive spaces for small animals that would combine veterinary care, adoption, education, therapy and activities integrating the local community.
The research problem of the project is how architecture can support the welfare of small animals, especially rabbits, while also creating a friendly, educational and therapeutic environment for people. The project explores the possibility of combining medical and adoption functions with spaces for ecological education, animal-assisted therapy, recreation, local food production and rainwater retention. An important assumption is to create a place that not only provides treatment and care, but also teaches responsibility, empathy and conscious contact with nature.
The centre is intended to function as a safe space for treatment, rehabilitation, temporary shelter and adoption of animals, while also becoming an open meeting point for local residents. The concept is based on building relationships between people, animals and the landscape through education, therapy, gardens, rabbit runs, a greenhouse, cultivated fields, a local market, relaxation zones, green roofs, rain gardens, constructed wetland ponds and a retention reservoir.

Project description

The project consists of a multifunctional complex of buildings and green spaces designed for small animals, visitors, staff and the local community. The main part of the programme is related to veterinary care and adoption. The ground floor includes customer service areas, a waiting room, veterinary consultation rooms, treatment rooms, an operating room, X-ray and ultrasound diagnostics, an isolation room, a pharmacy, auxiliary rooms, sanitary facilities and an adoption area. An important part of the programme is formed by rabbit rooms and rabbit runs, designed with respect for their natural needs, safety, observation possibilities and controlled contact with people.
The programme is complemented by educational and therapeutic functions. The centre includes educational rooms, a lecture room, workshop spaces, an animal-assisted therapy room, as well as sensory and calming spaces. These functions are intended for activities with children, young people, animal guardians and local residents. The aim is to increase awareness of responsible adoption, animal welfare, ecology, local food production and the relationship between people and nature.
The project also includes social and service functions. It provides a café, a shop with local products, a seasonal market, a greenhouse, cultivated fields, raised garden beds accessible also to wheelchair users, as well as meeting and relaxation areas. The green space programme includes rain gardens, constructed wetland ponds, a retention reservoir, relaxation zones, walking paths and spaces for observing the landscape. As a result, the centre functions not only as a veterinary and adoption facility, but also as a place of education, social integration, therapy, recreation and contact with nature.
The upper floors contain staff areas, including offices, administration rooms, a training room, social rooms, changing rooms and a recreational green roof. The underground level contains technical and storage functions, such as food and hay storage, a cold room, laundry, a workshop, ventilation rooms, a boiler room, utility rooms and areas related to waste management, including medical waste.

Technical information

The designed building complex is based on a mixed structural system combining reinforced concrete and timber technology. The underground level, retaining walls, technical elements and parts with higher structural requirements were designed using reinforced concrete technology. The main above-ground floors are based on CLT timber construction, which helps reduce the building’s carbon footprint and emphasises the ecological character of the project. The façades are designed as timber façades finished with reclaimed pine wood panels. This material solution gives the building a natural, warm and coherent architectural expression, while also referring to the idea of reuse, sustainability and responsible material management.
The building was designed with accessibility for people with disabilities in mind. The project includes a lift, appropriate widths of circulation routes, accessible entrances, parking spaces for people with disabilities and raised garden beds that allow wheelchair users to use the garden space. The functional solutions were adapted both to the needs of users and animals, ensuring proper separation of zones, controlled movement of people, safety and comfort of use.
An important technical element of the project is the rainwater and greywater management system. The concept includes rain gardens, constructed wetland ponds, underground sedimentation tanks, greywater tanks and an emergency connection to the municipal stormwater drainage system. Rainwater is retained, purified and reused within the site, which supports water retention, biodiversity and reduces the load on the municipal drainage infrastructure.
The project also includes green roofs, recreational zones, solutions improving the microclimate and a connection between the building and the surrounding landscape. In terms of fire safety, solutions compliant with the requirements for a low-rise ZL III category building were applied, including appropriate fire resistance classes of partitions, fire doors, separated staircases, internal hydrants and access for emergency services. The whole complex was designed as a functional, safe, ecological and friendly space for both people and animals.