Bat Caves

This strange structure is a bat cave. It's the overall winner, designed by British architecture students Jorgen Tandberg and Yo Murata, of a contest for a bat house in west London's Wetlands Centre.

The Bat Project describes the winning design:

The unanimous favourite through every round of voting, this design raised palpable excitement in the room. Beautiful, poetic and unexpected, combining state-of-the-art technology with a rural and romantic aesthetic. Resembles a picture in a frame and can work on all four sides. Can be used year round – good for Pipistrelles [a species of bat]. Rock pile at base would retain humidity. Good range of internal sizes. The location is ideal – it successfully negotiates the relationship between the tree-covered bank, where bats can fly out into cover, and the lake where certain species will feed, and where the water will keep the lower space cool and humid. Relationship to the viewing points and the wider site is strong.

The materials are simple and can be sourced locally, cheaply and from recycled supplies or even on site. The scale and design look reasonable for the budget available. The orientation and the different materials can be used to create the range of temperatures required – a certain amount of experimental development will no doubt be needed, but it is a highly adaptable design and could be adapted in situ over time. Could imagine it being replicated elsewhere, perhaps altering the meterials and/or scale to suit each location and budget.

For bat caves, see Oobject's bat cave and bat house page.