by ArchitectureWeek

Seen on approach at just the right angle, it might be mistaken for a broad grassy hillside with a glass pavilion.

As one circles around eastward, the "hillside" quickly opens up to reveal the upper green expanse as the roof of a building — the new Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow.

This earth-sheltered veterinary facility was designed by the Glasgow office of Davis Duncan Architects, which has since merged into Archial Architects. The £10.7 million, 4,500-square-meter (48,000-square-foot) hospital received the RIAS Andrew Doolan Award from the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, designating it the "best building in Scotland" for 2009.

"The building's great triumph is the unique and ingenious way it integrates a very substantial medical facility within the parkland setting of Glasgow University's Garscube Estate," remarked the jury for the Doolan Award. "This is a highly complex work of architecture which sets new standards in the design of buildings for veterinary medicine."

Under its long sloped roof, the structure rises with a gentle wedge-shaped section. A heavy gabion wall grounds the building on three sides, complemented by neutral gray fiber-cement cladding.

At one corner, the roof forms a canopy above open-air dog runs, while a section of full-height glazing recessed into the north facade marks the building's main entrance.   >>>

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SUBSCRIPTION SAMPLE The Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, received the 2009 RIAS Andrew Doolan Award. Photo: Andrew Lee/ Courtesy Archial Extra Large Image Davis Duncan Architects, which has since merged into Archial Architects, designed the Small Animal Hospital with a sloping planted roof that blends with the adjacent lawn. Photo: Andrew Lee/ Courtesy Archial Extra Large Image   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.