Blacktown Animal Rehoming Centre (BARC)

The key design challenge was balancing the functional parameters for the building with the needs of the humans and animals. As a council-operated facility, BARC must accept all animals – strays or surrenders – brought in by rangers or citizens. It was our role to design a centre that facilitated the rehabilitation of animals, promoted their adoption, excited and educated its visitors about pet ownership, and promoted the mental health of staff. Put in crude terms, the human equivalent of BARC would be a cross between a refuge, a hospital, a psychiatric hospital, a hospice, a maximum-security prison, and a sales showroom.

The BARC design is underpinned by research and is benchmarked against world’s best practice in animal welfare. BARC comprises a set of separate, elongated buildings; of ‘fingers’, reaching eastward to the woodlands of the Western Sydney Parklands, linked by north-south elevated walkways. In lengthening the building perimeter, the ‘fingers’ maximise cross-ventilation and solar access, and prioritise proximity to nature, reducing stress and improving health of staff and animals. BARC is the largest building of its type in the Southern Hemisphere, housing up to 380 spaces for dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, and goats.

Our client notes: SCA’s BARC design has revolutionised animal rehoming. Drawing on international best-practice, the assessment, care and presentation of animals is brought to the fore to deliver higher and faster adoption rates. Akin to a hospital design, the facility is purposeful in providing efficient, easily-cleaned and maintained facilities. It does this in an entertaining environment for the animals and one that presents them, for adoption, in the most engaging manner. The animals benefit by less stress; operational costs for an essential Council service are reduced; and adoptees are educated on their responsibilities and the needs of their future pets.

The colour design of BARC with artist Lymesmith expresses a vital link between the care of native and domesticated animals and establishes a positive relationship between BARC and the Western Sydney Parklands. Each of the six buildings has a unique ‘bird ambassador’, whose colours determine the interior and exterior colour scheme. Functionally this operates as a wayfinding device, helping volunteers and staff navigate the extensive facility, whilst providing an engaging identity for each building. The colours of all six local birds flock together in the 120m long, 4.5m high, multi-coloured abstract artwork along the facade that evokes the plumage of these locally endemic bird species, and visually unifies, screens and protects from the street, the activity within.