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Cotswold Cats and Dogs Home - Engineering Services

The RSPCA set out to establish a new rehoming centre near Gloucester. They appointed us as part of the team to deliver structural, civil, and infrastructure engineering design along with site investigations and geotechnical engineering support for the projects

Being a charity, the RSPCA¡¯s budget for this project was restricted. We worked closely with architect Mitchell Eley Gould to achieve a visually interesting scheme that didn¡¯t require the use of expensive materials. Clever use of materials and attention to detailing meant that there wasn¡¯t a bolt in sight, creating a sleek, seamless look for the new centre.

To meet the RSPCA¡¯s brief, our engineers undertook visits to other similar sites to learn from existing facilities and operations. We noted several key details, particularly in relation to the lining and finish of the kennels to withstand damage from paws and for ease of cleaning. Another key consideration involved the type of grating used on drains and the impact on a dog¡¯s paws.

Both the cattery and the kennels were designed with an isolation section, which required separate drainage systems for infection control. As there was no foul sewerage network to connect to, we designed an on-site treatment works that drains into a new swale and then on into a new pond. We liaised closely with the Environment Agency on the design so that it met both planning conditions and delivered a sustainable solution that enhanced the surrounding area.

The roofs on both the main reception and kennel buildings required careful coordination between our structural engineers and the architect. For the main reception with its green roof, we designed a solution that worked with the curves and slopes, keeping the profile of the roof as slim as possible. The kennel building roof has a wing-like profile and required a complex arrangement of steel beams to provide support against both upward and downward forces, while retaining a slim profile.

The rehoming centre has been granted its full licence by the RSPCA. It is the only new build facility ever to get a full unconditional licence and only the second in the whole country to have one.