Ecological Fabrication Design

URBAN WILDLIFE INTERVENTION LARC332 | Autumn 2014 | Patty Chen + Zhehao Huang

Site Analysis / Species Research

Provide food for Birds Planting native plants or hanging feeders in safe places are two easy ways to make the habitat the greatest place for birds to look for food. Native herbaceous and shrubs can provide the foliage, nectar, pollen, berries and seeds that many species of wildlife require to survive and thrive. And because they are indigenous to a specific region, native plants usually require little maintenance and are welcomed by wildlife, serving an important role in the local ecosystem.

Supply Water for Birds Birds need sources of clean water for many purposes, including drinking, bathing, and reproduction. Water sources may include natural features such as ponds, lakes, rivers, springs, oceans and wetlands; or human-made features such as bird baths, puddling areas for butterflies, installed ponds or rain gardens.

Create Cover for Birds Birds need places to hide to feel safe from people, predators, and inclement weather. Native vegetation is a perfect cover for birds. Tall grasses, shrubs, thickets and brush piles provide great hiding places within their bushy leaves and thorns for birds to habitat in.

Urban Wildlife Intervention

Give Birds a Place to Raise Their Young Birds need places to reproduce, bear and raise their young, and see their young survive to adulthood, all safe from predators, bad weather and human intervention. Creating a bird habitat is about creating a place for the entire life-cycle of a bird to occur.

Material / Sketch

Wood wire fence

Gunny

Urban Wildlife Intervention wire fence

PET

Design Concept / Example

Design Concept The restoration of lost wetlands is an important focus of today’s lands and water stewardship, because wetlands are the most valued and complex habitats on earth. And the loss of wetlands have contributed to a sharp decline in many insect-eating birds. We try to design and create a floating wetland especially for birds which will situate at the Seattle’s Waterfront.

We try to use recycled wood planks, plastic bottles, gunny, iron gauze and some native plants to make the floating wetland, to create a great habitat for birds to relax, eat, rest and reproduce.

Construction Process

Cut the wood

Connect different woods

Fasten the bottom of the box

Build the basic box

Fill in the soil

Put plastic bottles in

Cut some holes on the gunny

Wrap the bottom

Floating Wetland Done

Detail Design

Detail measure

Rhino model

Reflection In this autumn quarter, our studio site located in Seattle’s Waterfront, so we try to design something strongly related to our design while also promote the living condition of those birds flying around the waterfront. We come up with the idea of making floating wetland, so we search for a lot of information about the habit of seabirds and we look for some instructions of fabricating floating wetlands.

We try to use 10 wood planks, 8 plastic bottles, some gunny, wire fence to build the basic structure of the floating wetland, while through our process, the wire fence seems useless, so we abandoned to use it. After building up the basic structure, we fill soils into the structure, place double layer gunny on top of it, to prevent the evaporation of water. And at last, we cut some hole in the gunny, to put the plants into our structure.

In Dec 9th, we went to the Green Lake to explore whether our handmade floating wetland could float or not. Fortunately, it can float, and actually, it seems harmonious with the surrounding. We learned a lot through this amazing fabrication journey! Thanks a lot!