Animal Refuge Centre
Amsterdam Osdorp

180 dog kennels and 480 cat kennels
5800 m² gross floor area kennels
1765 m² facility area and commercial space

clients: Project Management Bureau/ Stichting DOA, Amsterdam
contractor: BAM, Amsterdam
start: 2006
completion: 2007

photos above and below by Luuk Kramer

nominated for:

- Gouden Aap 2008

- World Architecture Festival 2008

The two Amsterdam animal refuges in Amsterdam have been amalgamated: the new-built is the largest pound in the Netherlands. The plot is in the city fringe, an apparently impossible wedge of cake. The “comb model” usual for this function consists of a long service corridor, with a repetition of kennels at right angles to it, separated by small outside spaces. This model is dominated by railings and the look of it closely resembles a prison.
We have had the service corridor and the kennel corridor converge in the Amsterdam Animal Rescue Centre. This creates a long, thin ribbon building. This building is folded like a ribbon along the waterway around the plot. Inside this, two large play spaces for the animals have been created.
The building faces inwards in order to reduce excessive noise levels (barking!) for the neighbours. In the high part of the building, the cat accommodation is located above the dog kennels as an extra sound buffer for the outside world. The central position of the entrance lobby determines the final form – a fluid object. Its hide is a pixel version of the grass on the old dike next to the location.