San Antonio is stepping up its game in the world of animal welfare and architecture, with two innovative projects that have the city buzzing. San Antonio Pets Alive (SAPA), a no-kill rescue nonprofit, is gearing up to construct a brand-new 16,000-square foot shelter designed pro-bono by the local award-winning firm Lake | Flato. Breaking ground in merely a couple of months, the shelter will sprawl across a 10-acre lot, a vision made possible by a hefty $1.5 million Petco Love donation, as detailed in a report by San Antonio Report.
Architect Melina Phillips of Lake | Flato has sprinkled a bit of her pet-loving soul into the design which features efficient, pre-engineered buildings and a central quad for dog play. "It’s such a big issue here and a challenge we have in our city with all these homeless pets and so much euthanasia," Phillips told the San Antonio Report, underlining the transformative potential of SAPA's future home. The project promises shaded walking trails amongst mature oaks, with much-needed expansion room for the nonprofit which rescued 3,644 animals in the last fiscal year.
Not to be outdone by their own generosity, Lake | Flato is also taking a groundbreaking leap in residential design. The firm collaborated with Icon—an Austin-based home-building company specialized in large-scale 3D concrete printing—to construct a cutting-edge three-bedroom house in east Austin. This innovative abode, punctuated with curved exterior walls reminiscent of trees and elephant legs, was a hit during this year’s South by Southwest conference, boasting a wait list for tours, as reported by Express News.
The technique employed by Icon allows for the swift and sustainable creation of structures, using a material known as Lavacrete to achieve impressively high insulation ratings. "There is not an ounce of Sheetrock in this home, so from a sustainability point, there’s way less waste on a home that’s 3D printed," explained Cara Caulkins, a spokeswoman for Icon. Boasting an R-40 rating, these walls outpace typical construction standards by a mile. Inside, the home balances the industrial with the organic, showcasing raw concrete against the warmth of Douglas fir.
But beyond the savvy design and environmental benefits, this project, dubbed "House Zero," poses larger societal implications. Ashley Heeren, an architect from Lake | Flato's Austin office, revealed to Express News, "we loved their aspiration to take the concrete printing technology they'd been working with into a different market, a different aesthetic." Both House Zero and the SAPA shelter serve as testament to Lake | Flato's ingenuity and commitment to contributing to the community, barking up the right tree for social and architectural progress.
