Canine Training Facility
The Department of Defense operates a military working dog school at Joint Base San Antonio—Lackland and recently unveiled its new 25,000 square feet TSA Canine Training Center (CTC) facility, which will allow the school to continue producing some 230 canine/handler teams per year.
Garver served as the new facility's prime designer of record, providing design project management; design quality control; and architectural, structural, civil, communications, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and fire protection design services. The building included classrooms, offices and large gathering spaces.
"This new facility is an ideal complement to the existing training center campus, where our canines and handlers come to learn the skills necessary to demonstrate proficiency in four key elements: the canines ability to recognize explosive odors, the handler's ability to interpret the canines' change in behavior, the handler's ability to conduct logical and systematic searches and the team's ability to locate the explosives odor source," said TSA Administrator Peter Neffenger during the ribbon cutting ceremony.
"We wanted to design an open and attractive building that is highly functional," said Garver Architect Joe Orloff, "This one's elegant, secure, long-lasting, low-maintenance, and most importantly it serves the important purpose for which it was intended—it equips dogs and their handlers to save lives."
Garver also designed the building with its sustainability in mind. Through the use of efficient water fixtures, recycled and local materials, and other sustainable measures, energy savings were calculated at over 31%.
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