Status: Completed July 2021

Collaborators: MArch Unit 5 - Kingston School of Art, Hayatsu Architects, Reed Watts Architects, The Community Brain, Citizen Zoo. Photography by 121.Collective and Takeshi Hayatsu

‘Back in October 2019, Citizen Zoo teamed up with Kingston University’s MA Architectural Course and the Community Brain, to collaborate on a project to build a bird hide for Moated Manor, a small nature reserve which, lies over the road from the main Tolworth Court Farm site in Kingston. 

This forms an important project in the MA Architecture’s course, which allows for students to submit designs based on the specific brief and in keeping with the structure’s intended location. After some lengthy discussions, and with input from Citizen Zoo and the Community Brain, the students and the course leaders decided to combine the best components of different designs to form the bird hide. 

The final design consists of two circular rooms made from a timber structure and straw bale walls, with a wooden cladding and corrugated plastic roof to keep the rain out. As an inaccessible site to the public, Citizen Zoo intends to put the bird hide to good use for education and engagement trips, with sessions planned for Kingston Young Carers as part of our Curiosity project in the coming weeks. This forms an important part of our efforts to rewild people and connect them with their local wildlife.’ - Citizen Zoo