By Mark McConville
INCREDIBLE images have revealed the human-sized bird hut that allows people to perch among the treetops.
Striking shots show the stunning structure on wooden stilts along a forested hillside and the similarity to a traditional birdhouse is clear to see.
Other photographs show the interior of the house with a dog pictured relaxing on a double bed with plenty of room to move around inside.
The birdhouse-shaped hideaway is nestled in a British Columbia forest and is the work of Calgary-based design firm Studio North.
“The hut accommodates two people, twelve varieties of birds, and whatever inquisitive critters that comes by to visit,” said a spokesperson for the company.
“In addition to being an inviting place for people to nest, the whimsical façade has twelve birdhouses, each designed for various local birds that live in the mountains of the Columbia Valley, British Columbia.
“The materials, form, and orientation of the bird hut were designed to offer nesting opportunities for as wide a variety of local birds as possible.
“The pileated woodpecker for instance, is a larger bird that seeks out a nesting space 15 to 25 feet above ground, with a 4” entry hole and an 8”x8”x24” cavity. The warbler, on the other hand, is a smaller bird that typically nests nine feet above ground with a 1 1/8” hole and a 4”x4”x6” cavity.
“Considering both the largest and smallest varieties of local birds, the hut sits nine feet off the ground, with its peak at 20 feet above the ground and birdhouses scattered in between.
“Mimicking the process of a bird building a nest, the materials of the bird hut were scavenged from the immediate surroundings.”
The hut is nestled in a cross braced structure built of sturdy lodge pole pines foraged from a nearby forest recently ravaged by fire.
The platform and cladding for the hut is made of planks reclaimed from an old cabin deck.
The front facade is clad with western red cedar shingles cut with a custom rounded profile, the radius which was determined by the size of the birdhouse opening and the width of each shingle.
“To give a sense of being in the canopy of the trees, the roof of the bird hut disappears with clear 8mm polycarbonate panels,” added the spokesperson.
“As a result, the space is passively heated by the sun, acting as a kind of greenhouse that is passively ventilated by two circle windows that punctuate the facade and the entry.
“A bridge connects the bird hut to the hillside and a stone path leads down to a natural spring and campfire.”
