architecture for the birds
As migratory routes fill again, observation turns into a seasonal ritual. Across wetlands and coastlines, and deep into the forests, architects have been approaching the bird hide as a playful exercise which considers sightlines, filters sound, and hides the body within the landscape. These types of spaces are specifically built for viewing in silence, and always with the birds and surrounding ecosystems in mind. Read on to discover our ten favorite projects designed for birdwatching!
studio puisto designs floating hut for birdwatching in finland
Finland‘s scenic Vanhankaupunginlahti Nature Reserve serves as the backdrop for a floating birdwatching hut, named Piilokoju by its design team, the architects at Studio Puisto. The project stands as an example of floating architecture, offering a unique vantage point for observing birds in their native habitat while maintaining a commitment to ecological sustainability and accessibility.
The main function of the Piilokoju is to bring a peaceful and unobtrusive space for birdwatching. Designed together with Helsinki-based environmental experts and local bird enthusiasts, the timber hut ensures visitors can closely observe birdlife without disturbing them.
image © Marc Goodwin
design students build wooden bird observatory in poland
During Mood for Wood 2021 in Poznań, Poland, ten architecture students, tutored by Latvia-based NOMAD Architects, design and built a wooden birdwatching observatory. The shores around the pond on which it’s sited are covered in lake-edge vegetation, with ideal nesting conditions for many species of birds.
The project uses the sloped shoreline to create a shallow, two-level structure nestled among the vegetation to keep birdwatchers well hidden. While the final shape might seem like an aesthetic choice, it actually reflects the observatory’s multiple functions.
The lower level houses two platforms that lead to the waterfront, while the upper tier protects birdwatchers from bad weather with its sloping sides that act as a roof. The protruding ‘wings’ also function as a barrier and backrest to sit back and enjoy the view from above.
image © Dawid Majewski
IAAC builds catalan observatory for researching in the trees
An observatory has been built by a design team at the IAAC as a unique scientific research facility suspended among the treetops of Barcelona‘s Collserola Natural Park. Developed by students and researchers of the Masters in Advanced Ecological Buildings and Biocities, the structure is an ecologically-minded building that allows researchers to occupy and work among the forest canopy.
Measuring over 8.5 meters (28 feet) in height, this mass timber structure is built from invasive pine trees sourced within the Catalan park through rigorous sustainable forest management and traceability procedures. Seventy trees were cut and processed by the students to create cross-laminated timber panels and beams along with solid wood elements — all paired with netting, and cork.
image © Adrià Goula
tipperne bird sanctuary allows birdwatching on danish fjord
Tipperne Bird Sanctuary by Johansen Skovsted Arkitekter is sited at the tip of the peninsula in the southern part of Denmark’s Ringkøbing Fjord. With its unique nature, the location marks an important stopping point for migratory birds and is home to europe’s oldest continuous bird counts. Previously, public access to the area has been very limited, but with the establishment of new facilities the area has now been opened to visitors.
These new facilities consist of such simple additions to the landscape as a bird hide, watchtower, workshop, walking paths and a conversion of the Tipper House research station. The new structures serve as objects in the landscape, each with distinctive characteristics and subtle mutual relationships to one another and their surroundings.
image © Rasmus Norlander
RAU architects builds egg-shaped observatory on dutch coast
Dutch design studio RAU Architects, in collaboration with RO&AD Architecten, build an egg-shaped birdwatching structure entitled TIJ to celebrate the opening of the Haringvliet Sluices. A group of dam-like hydro constructions, the ‘sluices’ were opened in order to improve water quality and stimulating fish migration, increasing and strengthening biodiversity in the surrounding nature reserves.
The observatory is sited on a breeding ground and home to several species of birds, and is part of a larger plan to offer a place to view several different species.
Sitting on a nest of sand, the structure echoes the shape of a Tern egg. Its foundation consists of vertical ‘feathers’ of chestnut poles, reeds, and small sand dunes. To prevent the birds from being disturbed, the entrance is a tunnel of upcycled timber. This tunnel is covered in sand and incorporates artificial nesting holes to provide a habitat for native birds.
image © Katja Effting
furman + keil extends austin home with ‘roost’ for birdwatching
Roost by Furman + Keil Architects is a project that reveals itself only gradually. Tucked into a secluded fold of Austin’s terrain, the 928-square-foot timber structure lies far below the elevation of its neighborhood, concealed by tree canopy and reachable only by a narrow stair or a quiet paddle down the water. The descent to Roost, winding through a limestone grotto and into wetlands, creates a sense of arrival that evokes the feeling of a passage into a hidden world.
The team offers a way to inhabit the landscape without disturbing its rhythms. Raised above the water on steel piers, the structure appears to hover just above the slough, offering a vantage into the surrounding treetops. A screened porch invites long afternoons of birdwatching, while the shaded space beneath serves both as a launch for boats and a quiet, functional zone for engaging with the shoreline. Without extending the home’s conditioned footprint, the project offers new possibilities for seasonal living.
image © Leonid Furmansky
marte marte recalls post-agrarian memories in austria
On a sloping road in a rural area in Austria, Marte Marte Architects nestles a small concrete observation deck with views for birdwatching among the surrounding forestland. Named Masella Cabin, the structure holds symbolic meaning, recalling the collective memory of a post-agrarian society. Emerging as an art installation, memorial, and resting area, the platform smoothly curves around an old tree trunk, while a set of concrete steps gently guide visitors up the hill.
The structure embodies the shared recollections of a society that has moved past its agricultural roots. Here, a wooden cabin once provided rest and warmth for raftsmen and timber workers. Although the challenging trade is now history, a tangible spatial sculpture made of a single material remains as a reminder of the once-standing Masella cabin.
image © Faruk Pinjo
timber observatory perches over protected forest in ecuador
Mirador Aula takes shape as part of a larger master plan for the protected forest Cerro Blanco in Ecuador. Planned as an observatory, the wooden installation by Al Borde invites visitors to face the majesty of the forest letting landscape contemplation. aimed to appreciate its location, and context, the lightweight structure gives the feeling that it hovers over the slope.
in an attempt to promote the collective experience of sitting in the front row, the structure acts as an open classroom for school groups that are the main visitors of this area. standing on the main axis, the guide or teacher can easily address the audience spread in the two lateral wings.
image courtesy JAG Studio, Maria Veronica Paszkiewicz and Al Borde
‘batwatching’ tower’s carved aperture reveals spiral staircase
NEXT Architects completes the 26-meter-tall Watchtower Einderheide in Bergeijk, with a design to offer visitors a panoramic view of the Brabantse Kempen forest while serving as a habitat for local bat species.
The design features a spiral staircase leading to the viewing platform, where visitors can experience the forest from various heights. The structure, built from laminated larch and pine wood, includes multiple openings and notches at different levels, offering unique perspectives as visitors ascend.
The tower is designed to support the bat population by providing diverse habitats. Niches and cavities are integrated throughout the wooden structure, offering spaces for roosting, mating, and nesting.
image © Karl Banski
this viewing platform overlooks ancient suffolk burial ground
Rising above the rolling landscape of Suffolk‘s Sutton Hoo archaeological site is a new viewing platform by Nissen Richards Studio. The design team worked closely with the national trust to carefully re-choreograph the route at the Anglo-Saxon burial grounds to include new points of interest and exhibition displays. This network all culminates in the observatory which rises 17 meters (56 feet) and is wrapped in a light envelope of vertical timber slats. The work offers visitors a new vantage point through the canopy of trees along with the seventeen surrounding burial mounds, which date as far back as 625 BC.
image © Gareth Gardner
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