Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, SW8

Works commenced on site in November 2014 following the demolition of the kennels building and completed in July 2016 on programme and on budget.

Vibrant and colourful glazed terracotta cladding is used to give the building a stand out shimmering quality on this very important site. Different shades of blue originating from the charity’s corporate colours are arranged in a pixelated fashion rising from dark blues to lighter shades of blue through to a very pale shade of blue/grey at the top to create the effect of the building disappearing into the sky. The selection of glazed terracotta makes reference to the glazed masonry of local Victorian architecture whilst the graphic arrangement of the facade was designed to resonate with the masonry details at the base of the chimneys at Battersea Power Station.

The 400m2 building arranged as 8 storeys plus basement. A new state of the art veterinary clinic occupies the ground and first floor levels with six levels of training facilities and office floors with a lecture theatre and boardrooms at top floor level. The lecture theatre extends into a roof terrace with views across to the Battersea Power Station and Battersea Park.

This was a particularly complex project to build as a result of very restricted access to the site, which is surrounded, on all sides by two mainline railway tracks (into Victoria) and the existing re-homing kennels building. The nearest rail track is only 3.6 metres away from the new building itself. Extensive negotiations with Network Rail ensued over various issues including negotiating the degree of glare that could result from the glazed tiles that the building is clad with in order that passing train drivers would not be affected. This involved independent testing at laboratories in Germany and the UK to test the reflection created by the glazed tiles in sunlight and the effect this may have on train drivers.