Architecture-- for the Birds!

The Nesting Boxes, on view as part of the Innovation Playground Exhibit at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

By Sarah O Donnell

This Fall, AIAVT partnered with ECHO and Generator for a new exhibition that would showcase a different type of architecture. The Nesting Box Project began with a Request for Submissions (RFS), which went out in June. The request sought artists, architects, makers, and tinkerers to create original artworks, or “Nesting Boxes”, that would model creative, species-specific habitats for local birds. Submissions were on display and in use for the duration of the Innovation Playground 2.0 Exhibit from September 22, 2018 - January 6, 2019 at ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vt.

Participants chose one of three species: the Northern Flicker, Barn Swallow & Wren, and took on the the challenge of designing and building innovative nesting boxes that would suit the ecological needs of the given species. Eight submissions were received, from a mix of individuals and teams with a variety of backgrounds. Nesting Boxes and their makers included:

Wren Den, Kristen L’Esperance and Adam Shirlock, Cultivation Design Build

For the Birds, Rolf Kielman, TruexCullins Architects

Birdhouse in Your Soul, Elijah Bursey, Age 6 & Thomas Bursey, Freeman French Freeman

Wren House #407, Abby Dreyer, Artist

Wren's Residence, Melissa Fletcher, MGF Designs Architecture

Wrenovation, Marjorie Dickstein, Architect

Woven Tree, Team Weave: Brian Leet, Jamie Wagner, & Catherine Lange, Freeman French Freeman

Birds in Flight, Alex Halpern, Evan Champagne, & Jesse Robbins, Freeman French Freeman

Guests were invited to vote for best-in-species designs, and the results are in!

Congratulations to the 2018 Nesting Box Project Winners:

Overall

1. Wren's Residence, Melissa Fletcher, MGF Designs Architecture