Parada, Vila do Conde, Portugal
The Canine & Feline Hotel is located in Vila do Conde, and the program consists of a temporary dog and cat accommodation, a veterinary office, outdoor training areas, and a swimming pool for pets.
The project was recently awarded with a 2020 International Architecture Award from The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and The Chicago Athenaeum.
The program is distributed over three buildings, allowing the creation of three different areas and reduction of animal noises.
In combination with the programmatic layout needs, the three volumes were designed to reduce the impact of the construction area in order to improve its landscape integration.
The first volume, with only one floor, corresponds to the reception and support area, with a service desk, a small shop, a storage room, the sanitary facilities, an office, a veterinary’s office, and a grooming room.
The second volume is the biggest one and takes advantage of the existing topographic for the creation of two floors, functioning as a link between the highest part of the terrain (the entrance area) and the lower part (the playground for the animals).
Upstairs there is a forty-one dogs’ shelter separated by the central corridor with a small garden to obstruct the eye contact of the animals facing each other.
On the lower floor, with spiral staircase access, there is a multipurpose space, a technical room, a laundry room, and a locker room and bathroom for employees.
The third volume corresponds to the cats’ shelter, is the smallest one, and has twelve independent accommodation spaces, with a central space of circulation around an interior garden that serves as a playground area for cats and is lit by a large skylight.
Project: Canine and Feline Hotel
Architects: Raulino Silva Arquitecto
Client: Rui Manuel Flores da Costa
General Contractor: Direct Administration
Photographer: João Morgado
