| The Birdhouse is an elementary example of a few of these ideas in action. It depends how living plants can be integrated into an engineered object in the service of a living creature.
The Birdhouse emulates the functions of a bird's next found in a tree or hedge-shelter from the weather, concealment from view, enclosure with living foliage and elevation above ground to deter predators - and transforms them into a manufactured but ecologically-friendly object. It is a metamorphosis in which a nest is reconfigured as a mechanical nest, a protective capsule. Living plants penetrate the capsule shell and grow out of hydroponic material inside.
Rainwater is collected by two projecting winglets and channelled to the interior to irrigate the plants which camouflage the entrance and clothes the exterior in leaves. In dry weather, and electronic sensor and beacon signal the need for water which can be sprayed onto the winglets from a hosepipe below. The nest structure is raised over 5 meters above the ground on a telescopic strut to provide the birds with security.
The Birdhouse could be installed in gardens, woods or forests to supplement the natural habitats of birds. The capsules would be extended on the masts high up among the trees - friendly offering from one species of living creature to another. | |
