Gwinnett County Animal Welfare/Enforcement Center, Lawrenceville, Georgia

Needing to accommodate a large volume of animals with a relatively small staff created the opportunity to design an unusually large facility, which has a major presence fronting on a busy highway.

The shelter houses all administrative and animal care spaces under one roof, which both eases the burden for staff and allows simplified access control for security purposes. Connolly's design features rows of storefront windows both inside and out to allow natural light to flow into the "landlocked" spaces in the building core. Interior glass also creates visual sightlines for staff to monitor activities in other rooms from a distance.

The exterior materials palette divides the building to break down its scale. Red brick, which complements the police training facility, defines the animal support areas while metal and store-front commercial windows define the public, administration and adoption areas. To complete the campus, Connolly designed outdoor animal play areas and a grazing pasture for livestock, and a K-9 facility to house and train police dogs.

Connolly was shelter design architect with Pond & Company of Atlanta