Brands Hatch Kennels
The team at Battersea Brands Hatch felt the need to update their kennel facilities and an ambitious redevelopment program was embarked upon.
A completely fresh approach was required and Stellex were delighted to be chosen for this task. Starting with a clean sheet of paper a complete new approach was required.
Different concepts and ideas were put forward by Stellex until a design was decided upon. The team at Battersea were very focussed about what they wanted to achieve. They wanted to create a happy environment for the dogs and cats which would show them off to their best advantage and make rehoming easier and quicker thereby reducing the animals time with Battersea.
Initial works commenced in the rehoming kennel area. The existing kennel fronts which had served their purpose were of a metal bar type construction. The team at Brands were very clear – they wanted these to be replaced with a glazed screen which was less restrictive to the dogs and showed them off to great advantage.
The kennel bars were replaced with 10mm thick toughened glass units sealed into a stainless-steel frame. Instead of permanently bonding the glass in place, a modified version of the clever bolt in design, first used by Stellex at Battersea Old Windsor’s cattery was used.
A clear A4 document holder was then fitted to the glass to allow the rehoming candidates CV to be displayed to any perspective new owner.
Finally matching stainless steel closing caps were fitted between kennel fronts to create a smooth and seamless effect.
Once the kennel fronts were finished, attention was then focussed on the corridor and kennel dividing doors. Previously gaps had been used to maximum effect to encourage air flow. Unfortunately, dog interaction on occasions had been an issue so these gaps were to be all closed off.
This proved to be a complex issue as no two gaps were the same, building tolerances had to be taken into account and how the detail would interact with the existing installation was a significant factor.
In the doors themselves polypropylene panels had been fitted and these also had gaps around them. Various options were considered and, in the end, new Trespa (high pressure laminate material) was used. This was carefully machined around the existing fixing points to create a gapless environment.
Sealing all these gaps was probably the hardest part of the job and tested Stellex’ designers and installation team to the full.
To complete the installation Kennel door restraining straps were fitted to each of the dividing doors to prevent any accidents with the glass fronts. As a finishing touch each of the new Trespa panels were fitted with a specialist decal showing the kennel number clearly. Matching decals were then applied to the glazed kennel screens making identification easy.
Upon completion of the kennel blocks, centre staff were taken aback by the transformation. The environment was completely transformed and the dream had been turned into reality. Dogs were quieter, calmer and happier. It was clear that the whole process was a resounding success.
