MOATED MANOR NATURE HIDE with MArch U5 (Kingston School of Art)

Back in October 2019, Citizen Zoo teamed up with Kingston University’s MA Architecture 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 formed an important project in the MA Architecture course, which allowed students to submit designs based on a specific brief in-keeping with the structure’s intended location. After some lengthy discussions and with input from both 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, built by 121 Collective in collaboration with the students, consists of two circular rooms made from a timber structure. Straw bale walls with wooden cladding and a corrugated plastic roof help keep the rain out. As an inaccessible site to the public, Citizen Zoo intends to put the bird hide to good use for educational and engagement trips, with sessions planned for Kingston Young Carers as part of our Curiosity project in the coming weeks. The project plays a vital role in 121’s continued effort to rewild people and connect them with their local wildlife.