When your Architect is more than just the definition

Architect: a person who designs buildings and advises in their construction.



You’ve made the big decision to move forward with your dream and either remodel or build your practice. You have a lot of ideas in your head, and the next step is finding the right architect to help bring them to life. But what makes a good architect—and, more importantly, what makes the right architect for you?

There are many commercial architects out there, most with large portfolios that include office buildings, schools, restaurants, and retail stores. But your building type is unique. You may have specialized HVAC demands, equipment requirements, and durable finish needs that must stand up to the daily wear and tear of animal care. As veterinary architects, we understand these requirements and what it takes to make your vision not only functional, but durable enough to support the realities of your practice.

Specialized veterinary architect challenges

One of the biggest challenges is maintaining air quality within the building. Odors, moisture, and sterility are constant issues in older practices. As specialized veterinary architects, we have an understanding of how to mitigate odors, provide fresh air to areas such as boarding, and create positive pressures in rooms requiring sterile conditions. We’ve seen you gowned up for surgery and have listened as you tell us how hot it gets. So we design surgery suites with their own systems, to keep you cool while using powered filters to keep the room clean and contaminate free.

Your equipment is equally specific. A typical architect will likely not know what a wet table is, or stainless steel cages, or boarding runs. What do you need an oxygen generator for? What is waste gas evacuation? How much does a double surgery light weigh? A veterinary architect can tell you all these things, plus hundreds of other details that seem like minutia but are critical in allowing an animal care facility to work optimally.

Your clients can be like children…adorable and loving, but dirty and messy. They bite, chew, and leave “presents” on all the building finishes. A typical architect may not have an understanding of what kind of paint, flooring, and even ceiling tile you require to withstand the abuse they are bound to take. As veterinary architects, we’ll discuss epoxy wall paint with you. We will show you the latest in medical grade sheet vinyls and luxury vinyl tiles (LVT), and which flooring surfaces are best in heavy wet areas such as boarding rooms and grooming spaces. It’s these critical finishes that help your building not only stay beautiful, but easy to clean and last for years.

Why the Right Veterinary Architect Makes a Difference

Architects are essential to bringing your vision to life, and having a veterinary architect on your team makes the process much easier. At HDA Architects, we help you stay focused on your business while putting our experience to work to build a space that supports your future. Let’s build something great together.