Bat House Project Announces Winners

THE OVERALL WINNER:

Jorgen Tandberg and Yo Murata
The winner in the Student/General Public Category was selected as the overall winner, to be built at the WWT London Wetlands Centre. Congratulations to Mr Jorgen Tandberg and Ms Yo Murata, who are 4th year undergraduate students at the Architectural Association.

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. 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 materials and/or scale to suit each location and budget.

Catagory A Winners

First Prize:
Andrew Brown, Gareth Jones & James Falconer

A strong abstract design with varied potential for use. Good division between cold and warm areas. Modules of different conditions could be used for experimentation.

Joint Runner-Up:

Jochen Rabe (Arup) with Stefan White (Manchester School of Architecture) and Mike Wells (Biodiversity by Design)

Clearly based on extensive research on bats, catering for different species and based on sound knowledge. Highly successful for this reason. One of few entries to show how different species of bats might fly in and around the structures.

Joint Runner-Up:
Mitchell Taylor Workshop and Buro Happold

One of the strongest entries from an architectural point of view, this entry truly embraced the challenge of designing for a new typology. It attempted to combine suitability for bats with an experimental, modular approach to design and construction, using a limited palette of materials.

Category B Winners

First Prize of Category B and overall winning entry:
Mr Jorgen Tandberg & Ms. Yo Murata

Second Prize:
Tilman Ruben Winter

Red bricked cube reminiscent of Mario Botta / Jean Nouvel. Good design, would sit well on the site and attract visitors. Strong relationship between visitor zone and bat zone. The need for several types of roosting spaces was addressed.
Third Prize:
Alexander Bartscher & Elisabeth Deutschmann

Visually great, gothic/fairytale imagery, beautifully – taking the traditional house and separating a range of roosting spaces are provided.

Category C Winners

First Prize:
Miss Inderjit Mehroke

What looks at first like a purely fantasy illustration turns out on closer inspection to provide very well for the requirements of several species of bats. Lots of hard work, imagination and attention to detail have gone into this design.

It shows how a fantastic building, which the designer herself might wish to live in, can be adapted in many different and creative ways to accommodate bats. A protected courtyard of trees and ivy on the walls are provided for the bats should they prefer not to live in the building itself.

Second Prize:
Alexander Craig-Thompson

Serious thinking about architecture, considers viewing and what would go on inside in order to accommodate bats.

Third Prize:
Matthew Burns

Conceptually interesting, strong and clear idea. The Jury liked the idea of a ‘Big Brother’ observatory – ‘but no bats get evicted’. Sustainable materials, the use of new technologies and the relationship between humans and bats have been well considered.

Source: Bat House Project Offical Website

See also: Jury Report (PDF)