Birdhouse

Location: Rotterdam, NL
Year: 2018
Type: Open air theatre
Status: Graduation thesis

A vertical structure (a 'tower', a 'folly') is the site for seasonal activities, a place for humans and birds. During the summer a scaffolding structure can be attached to climb inside and to overview the landscape, the city and the waterfront. Local actors living on Katendrecht like Theater Walhalla can hold festive events such as an open-air theater. After the performance the curtain is placed upwards and the city is turned into a piece of scenery. Like a tree sheds its leaves during seasonal change, the birdhouse will 'shed' the additional scaffolding structures during the winter. The prefabricated concrete core will remain and will function as a folly. It does not have a practical purpose and becomes an anchor point in the landscape to drag the attention when walking by. As it lost its use - a lack of activity during winter-, the place is turned into a site of contemplation and reflection (whereas the arches are framing the city and landscape around it). The structure allows one to stand beneath it and one has time to let in the sensory experience of a place. Such as the sounds of the city nearby, the sounds of the animals in and around the landscape, the wind moving the grass, the light reflection on the waterfront, the smells coming from the factories across the water, etc. However, a very important purpose of the core is that it operates as house for the most frequent user of the place: the bird. The different holes on the exterior of the core are dimensioned to inhabit various kind of birds (as each type of bird has its preferable size to live in). The inside of the concrete core is cast with a bird nest texture to make humans also feel a little bit like a bird coming home in their nest.