Designing bird houses to explore the relationship between architecture and nature,
The Muz Yer public exhibition was held in Rennes, France,
and invited internationally famous architects to design birdhouses,
which highlight the relationship between contemporary architecture and nature.
Each birdhouse operates in response to one or more of the 13 bird species identified by the Committee for the Protection of Birds, (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux – LPO),
It increases awareness of Rennes’ architectural heritage and its urban environment.
Exhibitors include Julien De Smedt Architects, ADEPT, a/LTA, Duncan Lewis, Marion Normand, Kengo Kuma & Associates,
and Tham & Videgard and Dominique Perrault Architects & Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost Design.
The exhibition aims to provide answers to global questions such as, How can architecture be designed today to meet future needs?,
What are the new uses for improving our living environment and promoting living together?
It also addresses social, economic and environmental challenges, and how to design the cities and landscapes of tomorrow,
The installations are displayed across an 8-kilometre-long road from public spaces in Rennes,
It crosses the city from northeast to southwest on recently converted land to highlight new architectural ambitions.
Bat Palace designed by Julian de Smedt Architects
The project is located in Parc des Gayeulles near lakes and forests, so instead of building a house for birds,
The JDSA decided to deal with “unloved” species: bats, for example.
In this particular region, the natural habitats of bats suitable for living and shelter are limited,
Although they play an important role in the functioning of the ecosystem.
The design of the bat house follows extensive research on the nesting needs of these mammals;
They need a landing area where they can climb, usually on rough wood.
Once they reach height, they can move from one cell to another, depending on area and temperature.
ADEP
By placing the project in the middle of the André Malraux Square basin,
The installation is naturally protected from predators by water.
This location allowed the architects to free themselves from height restrictions while giving them the possibility to create a true interaction between birds and water.
Rather than trying to imagine a nested box within the shape, the company chose to imagine shapes with nested boxes.
By stacking and placing the optimum sizes for each type side by side, they were able to create different models by their shapes, heights, and openings.
Each nest box contains a specific type, and performs a specific function in the pond.
Rather than being isolated from one another,
the patterns are grouped together to create a central space common to all the volume’s inhabitants.
George Starr by a/LTA
George Starr is a shorthand and adaptation of the famous L’Etoile, a university restaurant on the Beaulieu campus built by architect “George Mayols” in 1963.
As the team explained, its shape, handling and color make it a “sophisticated hitherto” paradoxical organism.
Its blue color is RAL 7016 used for highway signs, where the faceted monochrome object is fixed on a six-meter-high pole,
It creates a reference to the neighborhood through its large billboards located in the vicinity on Boulevard d’Armoric.
Wild & Raw by Duncan Lewis
Wild and Raw, perched on a large eucalyptus tree in the prairies of Saint Martin,
It consists of three large oval structures made of straw, inspired by the nests woven by certain birds in Africa.
One of the main inspirations behind this approach was Architecture Without Architects (1964) by “Bernard Rudofsky”.
Rudofsky developed the idea of architecture designed by its users, and for the architect,
This was the direction the world must look at today, reconciling man and his context, to bring them together.
The architect also looked at weaving birds from South Africa, which make communal shelters,
By weaving all kinds of natural and manufactured scrap materials such as electrical wires.
Their nests take the appearance of outgrowths that reveal the ingenuity and adaptability of these birds.
The skyline of Marion Normand
The installation consists of 30 granite nesting units located on the southwest wall of an architecture school.
This material, Bleu de Lanhélin produced by local artisans, was chosen primarily for its durability,
They last long enough to find their place within the landscape and blend in with the school wall.
Designing bird houses to explore the relationship between architecture and nature
The installation seeks to reproduce the city skyline but on a smaller scale.
It also includes five types of nesting boxes spaced by gaps.
Each one adheres to the standards given by LPO, such as the diameter of the holes and the overall dimensions as per each type.
The Dancing Forest by Kengo Kuma and Associates
The look and execution of this birdhouse is intended to welcome native riverside species.
As the role of architecture is to integrate these elements to bring us closer to nature and facilitate and facilitate its perception.
If the construction is done well, we can feel the nature even in the dense city.
As for the composition, it is a composition that expresses the idea of movement that is naturally present in nature.
The architect also explored a traditional Japanese technique called “Yakisugi” (burned rice).
It protects and preserves wood by burning its surface instead of chemically treating it.
The assembly of wood pieces is based on the principle of “tensile”,
whereby a thin material operates in tension while a thicker material operates in compression.
This distribution of forces balances the structure, and as in Japanese tradition,
this method of construction uses thin pieces of wood, generating an effect of transparency and lightness.
Y’oiseau by Dominique Perrault Architect & Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost Design
Twelve columns were placed on a small space in front of the hall ZAC de la Courrouze, on the southwest side of Rennes.
The poles form a small forest, a collection of tiny elastic elements that sparkle and sway in the wind.
Dominique Perrault and Gael Loriot-Prevost imagined a lively installation with many artistic references to conceptual and minimalist art,
Kinetic mobile phones, and musical sculptures.
The Birdhouse offers a very simple design, created from durable materials, stainless steel and polished ceramic.
Muz Yer is a project started and developed by Gwénaël Le Chapelain,
He is an Architect associated with a/LTA and Head of the MG Endowment Fund.
MG Endowment Fund
It is a non-profit organization focused on the development and dissemination of architectural and artistic practices.
The Rennes-based organization promotes cultural projects at the crossroads of art and architecture by providing research and creativity,
organizing events, editing and publishing works, and developing communication, dissemination and outreach tools and procedures.
The organization develops projects that promote the Breton region, without being limited to this geographical framework.
