providing a full range of building advisory and agora

-

South Elevation 1:150

North Elevation 1:150

West Elevation 1:150

East Elevation (Front) 1:100

About AgorA MAnAgeMentAgora Management Limited is a professional design and management practice involved with a wide range of animal-related projects, our clients range from private individuals, veterinary surgeries and hospitals to charities; both small and large.

All of our projects are bespoke and are tailored to suit our clients’ requirements; these may be entirely new, multi-function developments on greenfield sites, through to extension and refurbishment works on existing buildings.

Agora can assist at the initial concept and feasibility stages, to advise and provide a variety of solutions to enable clients to make the best possible use of their resources; whether financial or logistical.

Having been involved with a large number of specialist animal projects, this experience enables us to ‘stand back’ and take a more pragmatic look as an outsider. This ability enables us to advise our clients on the best long-term strategy for their building or site.

The options might suggest that it would be financially more prudent to demolish and construct from new, equally, it might be that a major refurbishment programme would achieve the client’s brief and provide the best viable solution.

ProfessionAl Design & ADvice

Dogs Trust Kenilworth Centre (see large photo page 314)

The Blue Cross Bromsgrove Centre (case study page 420)

220 KENNEL DESIGN: THE ESSENTIAL GuIDE To CrEATING Your PErfECT KENNELS 2217 : KENNEL STYLES & DESIGNS

Design

The elevations (above) show just one new build project that we have been involved with.

The brief from the Dogs Trust was to prepare an architectural design for a large rehoming centre which, whilst residing in a designated Green Belt area, also provided the charity with maximum visibility on a prominent site. The resulting design merged the local vernacular aesthetic with some contemporary elements and materials in order to meet a potentially conflicting set of requirements. Acoustic concerns were also addressed by the careful use of soft landscaping and the selective placement of sound absorbing materials and enclosures.

Agora Management is a professional practice providing a full range of building advisory and

design services ranging from: project management, architecture and quantity surveying, to mechanical

and electrical services and CDM co-ordination

http://www.kenneldesign.com/

WAITING ROOM

CLINIC

OPERATINGTHEATRE

ADMISSION CATS

PLANTROOMADMISSION

KITCHEN

DENTALS

STAFF ENTRANCEPUBLIC CLINICENTRANCE

STAFF CATTERYENTRANCE

EMERGENCY EXIT

CLINICRECEPTION

JLA 22

MINOR & INDUCTION

SURGICAL

PUBLIC

DOGS

CATS

ANCILLARY

LAUNDRYKITCHEN

ADMISSION DOGS

HOLDING KENNELS

ADMISSION DOGS

RUN

SLEEP

222 KENNEL DESIGN: THE ESSENTIAL GuIDE To CrEATING Your PErfECT KENNELS 2237 : KENNEL STYLES & DESIGNS

DesignAgora Management is a professional

practice providing a full range of building advisory and design services

refurbishMent Design consiDerAtionsThe plans above show just one refurbishment project we have been involved with. The design brief from The Blue Cross Animal Welfare Society was to look at cost and feasibility of converting an existing outdated 20 kennel building to provide a new cat admissions, dog admissions and a public welfare clinic, with a full operating suite.

This project included many areas we specialise in, such as dog and cat accommodation, public and veterinary suites.

The existing building was traditionally constructed and structurally sound, but it had many disadvantages for the charity in terms of its layout, design and dog welfare considerations. Also, the charity wanted to incorporate this phase of the works into a larger, longer-term strategy. Planning ahead is a major consideration for any large development, and certainly for charities to ensure that they have made the best possible use of their resources. In this case the building provided the client with all of the required parameters. The final design incorporated a practical, functional working design with dedicated working areas/zones.

bAckgrounD to the coMPAnyAgora Management is a friendly and helpful practice, formed in 1998, to provide a full range of building advisory and design services ranging from project management, architecture and quantity surveying to mechanical and electrical services and construction, design and management co-ordination. The members of our practice are mature, qualified professionals with a wealth of experience in the building industry, who will take any project through from initial concept design to completion of construction on site.

Whilst we are able to provide a comprehensive service on projects of any nature, we have a particular specialisation in animal welfare facilities, be they rehoming centres, boarding kennels and catteries, veterinary centres or hospitals. Many of our clients have charitable status and are very pleased with the assistance we can provide for their fund-raising campaigns in the form of valuing, and providing appropriate images of individual elements of the proposed projects, to enable the campaigns to be suitably focused.

Our growing list of clients, all of whom we are delighted to be associated, includes:

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home• Cats Protection• Dogs Trust• National Animal Welfare Trust• rSPCA• SSPCA• The Blue Cross• The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association• Wood Green Animal Shelters• We also provide services to individual organisations such • as the Raystede Centre for Animal Welfare (Sussex), Haven Veterinary Practice (Great Yarmouth), Northlands Veterinary Hospital (Kettering), and are proud to have been the project managers of the Dogs Trust Highway Farm Centre (see case study page 274).

soMe of our ProjectsAgora Management were project managers assisting in the control and design development of the projects shown in this book, including:

Battersea Dogs and Cats Home (page 268) ■Blue Cross Bromsgrove Centre (page 420) ■Dogs Trust Highway Farm (page 274) ■Dogs Trust Kenilworth (photo pages 236 and 314) ■See more of our projects on pages 264-273 ■

to finD out MoreIf you have a building need, be it a new development, the alteration of an existing facility or a change of usage to animal welfare, it is our genuine belief that we can assist you regardless of its location and project scale. our professional dedication and knowledge has been fundamental to our success and growth. our current clients in the animal welfare fraternity view us as a practice able to respond to all their building needs in a timely, thoughtful and economic fashion.

If anything that we have discussed within this book is of interest to you, or of help, but you would like to take it further, we would be more than delighted to assist. We endeavour to treat all our clients with the respect that they deserve being fellow professionals within their own field. We appreciate that your project is your own, we therefore do not differentiate on the size of a project and we will offer the same quality of service. Indeed, our reputation has spread across the Channel, and we now have the pleasure of working in mainland Europe.

In the first instance, we invite you to contact our Managing Director, Alex Darvill (who has worked with David Key, the author of this book, for many years) to arrange an initial meeting and discussion:

AgorA MAnAgeMent

Alex DarvillAgora Management Limited

12 Kings Court, Willie Snaith RoadNewmarket, Suffolk CB8 7SG

Tel: +44 (0)1638 560343www.agoramanagement.com


264 KENNEL DESIGN: THE ESSENTIAL GuIDE To CrEATING Your PErfECT KENNELS 2659 : ProJECT MANAGEMENT

ProfessionAl Project MAnAgeMent AnD Architecture

Alex Darvill, Agora Management

ProfessionAl Project MAnAgeMentIt cannot be stressed strongly enough that the building industry is complex – it is one in which we are deeply involved, and extremely experienced. The likelihood is that the unaided layman will fail to deal adequately with the procurement, management and financial rigours of his project. For example, a ‘Design and Build’ method will fail miserably if there is an inadequate detailed brief and the absence of a skilled professional to guide the prospective building owner in all aspects of this particular method.

A professional project manager will spend as long as is necessary to develop a client’s initial design brief into a final concept, that will provide a pleasing, functional and robust facility. At Agora Management we tailor our services to suit the circumstances of each project, which is essential to ensure the right balance of time, cost and quality is provided.

A wide and detailed knowledge of building materials and of practical design issues such as ours enables a building to be modified to each client’s needs, and to any limitations that the proposed site may place upon it.

PrActicAl construction issuesBuilding any form of animal housing is a specialist area, and this knowledge is something that can only be obtained by continually working and developing in this sector. Mistakes are easily made due to lack of knowledge, and it is often left to the client to outline the project brief and specifications.

PlAnning APPlicAtionsThere are many pitfalls in making a planning application.

Again, specialist knowledge will come into its own here – as a wide and detailed knowledge of planning legislation and environmental issues is essential (it has proved vital to many of our clients), and is an area in which we have an exemplary record of dealing with such complex issues. We find our previous experience invaluable and act as precedents/case studies, which pay dividends in achieving planning success.

builDing regulAtions requireMentsBuilding Regulations define the amount of carbon dioxide emissions permitted from the heating and other energy-consuming services of new and altered buildings. Control measures, such as solar shading, can have significant impact upon both cost and a building’s appearance and hence may have planning implications if not considered early enough.

We therefore advise our clients of the design options that will best meet Building Regulations, or exceed current standards by a defined amount, by producing a Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM) at the planning stage from our intelligent three-dimensional design models.

“Planning is bringing the future into the present

so that you can do something about it now.”

Alan Lakein

3D

We employ a 3D imaging package as a service to aid the client in visualising their proposed development. This enables clients to see any chosen part of the building, just as if they are standing in it or next to it.

Agora Management is a professional practice, providing a full range of

building advisory and design services ranging from: project management, architecture and quantity surveying,

to mechanical and electrical services and CDM co-ordination



PlAnning AnD environMentAl issuesProfessional project management also needs to be extremely conscious of environmental issues, particularly in respect of considerations such as planning, contaminated ground, waste disposal and the recycling of rainwater. our policy is always to open, and maintain, a dialogue with the relevant authorities and to work very closely with them to resolve all issues that may arise. Our record in this respect is exemplary.

Whilst there may be particular reasons (perhaps related to planning or to a client’s image) why a building must have a certain external style, we remain conscious of the need to provide value for money and to strike a balance between the function of a building (which is paramount), and its form (which is an aesthetic consideration specific to each project).

AniMAl WelfAreAt Agora Management we ensure that our knowledge of all legislation and guidelines relating to animal welfare is current, so that the facilities for which we are responsible are fully compliant.

It is important to keep up-to-date with animal welfare regulations

and issues to stay one step ahead. The new Animal Welfare Act has

recently been amended in the UK. Our expertise extends from canine, feline and equine rehoming centres to aviaries, guide dog training centres and veterinary centres and hospitals. We are also closely involved in the development of specialist metalwork products for the kennelling aspects of such facilities.

suitAble MAteriAls for kennelsComprehensive knowledge of suitable building materials and design considerations is vital and enables us, at an early stage, to advise on the nature and layout of a building that is likely to suit a client’s brief and budget. our knowledge of materials suitable for animal welfare facilities is vast, and is constantly being updated so that we can ensure the right material is specified – not only for reasons of its initial cost, but also for its likely maintenance needs.

client issuesAt Agora Management, we view all projects with equal care and consideration, and are very mindful of budgetary constraints. We provide financial advice and control, from initial concept design through to the settlement of the contractor’s final account, to the closing of the project.

Skills in advising and organising on behalf of a client ensure that the

best method of build procurement for a particular project under consideration can be chosen.

Our expertise in planning, programming, management and negotiation has proved invaluable in ensuring that projects are completed within the contractually-dictated timescale and budgetary constraints. We also have experience of the design and construction of multi-use sites (i.e. those with different organisations sharing the same site), and not only of new buildings on new sites, but also of converting and adapting existing buildings, some listed. Close liaison with the relevant authorities is essential – not least where consent for a change of usage is required.

We believe very strongly that the initial design concept and budget costings we offer to our clients are of paramount importance, as they set the benchmark by which all subsequent advice may be judged, and on which a client may base initial funding approval.

Design DeveloPMent ProgrAMMe & builD estiMAteA tyPicAl Design DeveloPMent ProgrAMMe:

The typical design development programme shown here turns the project from an academic concept into a reality – it is actually happening!

The client can see how he fits into the design process and can consider such matters as the date from which the contractor’s entitlement to periodic payment will begin.

A tyPicAl lArger Project builD estiMAte

As against a one-line, lump sum estimate, an elemental estimate of the type shown here helps the client to understand how the design of each element of the project affects its estimated cost.

This format is crucial in our being able to provide alternative estimates for individual elements of the project as the design is reviewed and developed.

sPeciAlist knoWleDge for Projects



battersea Dogs and cats homebrAnDs hAtch

In 1860 Mrs Mary Tealby, concerned by the number of animals roaming the streets of London, opened ‘The

Temporary Home for Lost and Starving Dogs’ in a stable yard in Holloway. The Home moved to its present site in Battersea in 1871, and was renamed The Dogs’ Home Battersea. The Home started taking in cats in 1883, following an individual donation of £500. In 1885 Her Majesty Queen Victoria became patron of the Home, and it has remained under royal patronage ever since. In July 2002 the organisation changed its name to Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

The Home started to spread its wings in 1898, opening additional, country facilities in Hackbridge, Surrey, where Sir Ernest Shackleton kennelled his sled dogs before setting out on his second Antarctic expedition. Bell Mead Kennels in Windsor were acquired in 1978 and are now known as Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, old Windsor. The former boarding kennels near the Brands Hatch motor racing circuit in Ash, Kent were purchased by the Home in 1996. Both satellite centres receive lost and abandoned dogs and cats from the local area and from the other centres, including from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home in London. Their purpose is to provide temporary shelter and care before rehoming the animals into caring and permanent new homes.

As the former kennels at the Brands Hatch site became unusable, plans were drawn up to completely redevelop the site and Agora Management Limited were appointed to assist. The redevelopment provides for 50 dog kennels and 23 cat pens.

The quality of life offered to the animals is of paramount importance and therefore, whilst the numbers of kennels and cat pens may seem limited, a wide variety of sizes and designs of enclosure allow behaviour assessments and any subsequent training to be undertaken, with minimal stress to the animals concerned.

The steeply sloping site influenced the final layout, with two distinct kennel blocks providing intake, isolation, rehoming and behavioural assessment with training in a purpose- designed facility. Cats are housed in the lower ground floor of Block one.

Due to acoustic restrictions relating to the prominent, elevated location, kennels feature enclosed ‘run corridors’ with carefully detailed timber louvered and glazed screens to restrict the break-out of noise whilst permitting the free-flow of air for natural ventilation. The cat pens mirror this approach with a mixture of glass and mesh fronts and are large enough to allow potential new owners to spend some time with the cat on a one-to-one basis.

Block Two, although similar in size to the 37 kennel unit Block one, provides 13 distinct kennels for stressed or nervous dogs. These are much larger than the current statutory kennel size, to give the dogs more space to acclimatise to new surroundings and to ensure safe handling by staff.

four distinct Dog Training rooms are used for one-on-one sessions, and a large communal covered and heated run meets socialisation needs. Attention to detail by the design team and client has seen the inclusion of some very practical features, such as projecting nib walls to each kennel front to ensure that when staff visit or view a dog, they remain out of sight of neighbouring dogs, greatly reducing stress and noise.

Project MAnAger’s coMMents”This challenging and exciting scheme made the best possible use of a difficult site. BDCH had purchased a larger plot of land in a neighbouring field, which was level and perfect for a new building. However, we were unable to obtain permission to build in this field as it was felt that this would move the centre closer to the nearby built-up area in the village.

“It was then decided to build at the top of the hill and new plans were designed and priced. Inevitably, to build on the heavily sloping site meant much larger construction costs for BDCH. One large building at the top of the hill presented far too many problems with regard to split levels, so the final design of two ‘L’ shaped buildings placed on top of the hill enabled the under-croft of Block One to be used as the cattery.

“To enable the centre to remain operational during construction, temporary kennelling facilities were installed for the duration of the works, and the contractor given a separate point of access for deliveries, plant and workmen to remove potential disturbance and conflict of use.

The quality of life offered to animals at Brands Hatch is of paramount importance. Agora Management Limited were appointed to assist with the redevelopment to provide

for 50 dog kennels and 23 cat pens.

client cAse stuDy



Utilising 3D modelling and rendering software, all members of the Design Team and Planning Authority are able to visualise and understand the proposals

upon the actual site before commencing works.

3D “Once completed, the existing staff accommodation building was refurbished and the temporary kennelling sold on to help another animal welfare charity, thereby allowing the full extent of the car park to be finished.

“There was some local opposition to the possibility of an increase in dog numbers. Most of the objections were, as is often the case, due to a lack of information and knowledge about modern dog kennelling. Local residents felt that there might be a rise in dog numbers, which would in turn increase activity, noise, offensive smells, etc. but this is not necessarily the case if a building is well designed.

“Ease of cleaning, better sewage facilities, better acoustic materials used and a higher specification of building materials greatly improves the effectiveness of a building.”

Project revieWApart from the difficulty building on a very heavily sloping site and the need to create another construction access for the contractor (so as avoid a conflict of contractors vehicles and clients visiting the site), the whole project progressed fairly quickly once planning had been approved.

Planning itself had proven to be the biggest task over a three-year period. There are a number of complexities in planning restrictions these days relating to sewage, building materials, acoustics, and water and flood risk assessments. Therefore, in the early stages, the extensive discussions with local planning officers were time-consuming.

Once final approval of the drawings from the client and the local authority had been received, the Project Manager and his team progressed to tender. using local contractors this was fairly straightforward.

The use of temporary kennelling kept disruption to a minimum, and the proactive decision to seek a purchaser for the modular kennels once redundant ensured that a valuable resource was re-used. This also proved to be a very cost-effective method and should be considered wherever new building works may impede upon existing facilities.

on this particular project, close co-operation between all parties produced a good workable programme to provide temporary kennelling, construction access and reduce costs to the client for this unique rehoming centre.



Alex DarvillAgora Management Limited

12 Kings Court, Willie Snaith RoadNewmarket, Suffolk CB8 7SG

Tel: +44 (0)1638 560343www.agoramanagement.com

We employ a 3D imaging package as a service to aid clients in visualising their proposed development. This enables clients to see any chosen part of the building, just as if

they are standing in it or next to it.

3D In our experience, we have found that today’s clients include within their establishments varying standards of veterinary care, and that larger organisations have increased and updated their veterinary facilities to provide the best surgical and medical care for all of their animals.

Increased veterinary facilities obviously provide greater flexibility to deal with the changing situations that arise from when an animal is received and whilst it is homed.

Larger centres are able to offer full veterinary care including holding and recovery rooms, preparation areas, and theatres, each providing a host of new equipment such as scrub sinks, dental and operating tables, X-ray facilities and, in some cases, full autoclave and surgical equipment racks for invasive treatment to animals. Even smaller centres and single shelters within the united Kingdom are now including within their rebuild a small veterinary room; some incorporating an adjacent small theatre for minor operations.

When designing a veterinary suite, consideration should be given not only to the flow of the patient from the waiting area through to holding, preparation, theatre and back into recovery, but also the cleanliness of design and the use of materials: the avoidance of 90 degree junctions, clean wipe- down services with aseptic paints and finishes should be adopted wherever possible.

Experience in this area of animal care facilities is vital for a highly efficient working veterinary suite, and this has taught us that ‘cheapness is dearness’ in the long-term when creating a veterinary suite, and attention to detail is essential.

We have worked with David Key, (author of this book), for many years, and you can see more of our projects and designs on pages 220-223.

veterinAry cAre AnD hosPitAl Design

Dogs Trust Kenilworth Centre (see large photo page 236)

Blue Cross Grimsby Hospital see opposite & large photo page 237


providing a full range of building advisory and agora

Documents