RAU Architects, in collaboration with Ro&Ad Architects, has completed a fully sustainable, egg-shaped bird observatory at the Haringvliet for Droomfonds. Thanks to the use of sustainable and circular materials and the unique shape, the fully rebuildable structure offers a genuine experience to nature lovers. The wooden nature artwork is named 'Tij' as a nod to the tide and the egg-shaped design.
The observatory, made of reeds, chestnut poles, and sand, is parametrically designed to achieve a good relationship between shape, construction, size and viewing holes. Local reeds from the Scheelhoek nature reserve have been used for the covering. Large spans of wood were made by means of a file-to-factory Zollinger construction. Pre-used bulkheads were used to make a tunnel to the observatory.
"Thanks to its complete rebuilding capabilities, modularity and materialization, it fully meets all the key points for a sustainable structure with circular potential," commented Thomas Rau, chief architect of Tij. "By building everything in such a way that everything can be taken apart without losing any of its value, we ensure that the strain on the ecosystem is minimal. The shape of the observatory is extra special, mimicking the egg of the large tern. Nature itself produced this shape."
Photography: Katja Effting