TAMU Schubot Bird Center

Project Name

TAMU Bird Center

Square Footage:

13,900

Location:

Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Category:

About This Project

Having outgrown the existing aviary structure at the Schubot Exotic Bird Health Center, the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences hired Bryan-College Station architects, The Arkitex Studio, to design a new building to better meet their needs. Of primary concern in this project was preventing the spread of avian diseases. Other priorities included having adequate teaching space and creating a safe and comfortable environment for the birds that will call the center home.

The result is a 13,900-square-foot multipurpose facility divided into separate healthy and un-healthy wings with isolated ventilation systems. All bird-inhabited areas are naturally lit. The facility also includes a level-two biosafety lab (BSL2), quarantine and sick ward spaces, a large classroom, and provision for future expansion. Architectural design of the three aviaries centered around natural ventilation capabilities which will allow the rooms to be open-air for most of the year, only using artificial heating and cooling to temper extreme weather or when an unhealthy flock requires isolation.

Photography by Marcel Erminy, Associated AIA