Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre (BARC)

An animal shelter benchmarks a safe and welcoming place.

State of the art facilities challenge the public perception of shelters with a building design that aims to improve animal recovery and increase community acceptance and adoption of impounded animals.

 

 

Rather than one solid mass, the facility sees six ‘fingers’ reaching out to engage with the landscape. This layout maximises thermal, visual and audio comfort, minimising distress and assisting with rehabilitation, whilst providing amenity for staff.

Views of the surrounding landscape are drawn into the kennel areas and increase interaction with nature. Animal facilities are carefully designed to minimise attention fatigue and improve bacteria prevention, provide stimulation and support staff safety.

The light-filled main building reception has a large cantilevered roof sweeping up to the sky, providing an iconic, welcoming, way-finding entrance. A civic space, it provides a secure and transparent environment, with clear circulation, ‘homely’ viewing rooms for potential pets and a function area for educational events.

A 100m long, abstract artwork of multicoloured vertical blades, the ‘Bird Screen’, links the six buildings with a colour scheme by Lymesmith referencing local native birds flittering through the bush. In addition, each of the six buildings is delineated by the colours of a unique ‘native bird ambassador’.

The facility sits lightly in an extensive landscaped area, with drought tolerant, shade-giving and low maintenance planting. The landscape acts as bio filtration at multiple points, promoting stormwater intake across the site.

Hygienic, durable, robust, easy to maintain and clean materials were chosen. Sustainable principles include passive thermal comfort, solar access, water retention.

The largest building of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, BARC houses up to 380 spaces for dogs and cats. Underpinned by research, the design is benchmarked against world’s best practice in animal welfare.

Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre Gallery

Project info	Details
Team	Sam Crawford, Gabrielle Pelletier, Scott Rowland, Benjamin Chan, Ken Warr, Louisa Gee, Henry Foley, Sofia Nay, Allen Huang, Imogene Tudor, Anna Paton, Shane Marshall, Charly Watson.
Contractor	AW Edwards
Consultants	Project Manager – Root Partnerships Landscape Architect – JMD Design Aboriginal Heritage – AMBS Arborist – Arterra BCA Consultant – BMG QS – Bylett & Associates Flood – Catchment Simulation Solutions Geotech Engineer – Douglas Partners Services Engineers – DSC Artist – Lymesmith Accessibility Consultant – Morris Goding Waste Consultant – MRA Consulting Structural Engineer – Northrop Consulting Civil Engineer – Northrop Consulting Fire Engineer – Olsson Fire & Risk Contamination Consultant – Prensa Acoustic Engineer – Rodney Stevens Signage & Wayfinding – Urbanite Traffic Engineer – TTPP Section J Consultant – Aspire Sustainability Third party approvals – Stowe Australia
Council	Blacktown City Council
Photographer	Brett Boardman
Awards	2025 Better Future World Design Awards – Gold- Architecture – Public Utility 2025 Better Future Australian Design Awards – Silver- Architecture – Public and Institutional 2025 Better Future GOV Design Awards – Gold – Architecture – Public Utility 2025 Australian Interior Design Awards – Shortlist – Public Design 2024 Sustainable Building Awards – Shortlist – Public Buildings 2024 Better Future Sydney Design Awards – Silver – Architecture – Public and Institutional 2024 World Architecture Festival – Finalist – Completed Buildings, Civic & Community 2024 ArchitectureAU Award for Social Impact – Shortlist 2024 Dulux Colour Awards – Finalist – Commercial and Multi Residential Exterior – Lymesmith in association with Sam Crawford Architects
Published	Sydney Morning Herald 9 July, 2024 Architecture & Culture Magazine Apr 2024 Elle Decor Japan no. 184 ArchDaily July 2023 ArchitectureAU June 2023 Indesign Live June 2023 Sydney Morning Herald 20 June 2023 ArchitectureAU September, 2017

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