Prosthetic Nests for the Powerful Owl
Prosthetic Nests for the Powerful Owl: Excerpt from video showing installation of prototype in System Garden at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia. Video by the authors.
Contributors: Dan Parker; Stanislav Roudavski.
Architectural installation at System Garden at the University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia.
Provision of prosthetic habitats is increasingly necessary because natural environments are increasingly impacted by urbanisation. Ongoing development causes elimination and degradation of habitat opportunities leading to declining biodiversity and displacement of animals. In response, this project investigates an approach that proposes to create habitat structures artificially. The project’s central hypothesis is that design conducted from a perspective of an animal can lead to innovative solutions for future urban ecologies.
Resulting designs employ innovative analysis, design and fabrication technologies across three scales. Firstly, computationally-supported mapping is used to develop city-wide regeneration strategies. Secondly, 3D scanning is employed for medium-scale site identification and analysis. Thirdly, augmented reality is used to enable the assembly of complex artificial nests. The outcomes of the project demonstrate that utilisation of ecological, technical and cultural evidence for more-than-human design purposes can expand the scope of possible urban futures beyond mitigation and suggest concrete approaches that are suitable for implementation and field testing.
The project generated substantial interest among the general public, the environmental conservation community (ANU, Monash University, Deakin University, Perth Natural Resource Management), governmental agencies (The City of Knox, Melbourne Water) and design companies (Aspect Studios landscape architects, Arup engineering consultancy). Follow on projects are in development, for example we have been invited to participate in a major infrastructure development of North-East Link, with the accepted prosthetic habitat component valued at some $250k for the base case.
Images
Prosthetic Nests for the Powerful Owl: Prototype installed at System Garden, Melbourne, Australia. Image by the authors.
Video
ABC Catalyst episode featuring project outcomes
Publications
Parker, Dan, Stanislav Roudavski, Bronwyn Isaac, and Nick Bradsworth. "Towards Interspecies Art: Prosthetic Habitats in Human and Owl Cultures." Leonardo 54, no. 5 (2021): 572–76. https://doi.org/10.1162/leon_a_02125.
Roudavski, Stanislav, and Dan Parker. "Modelling Workflows for More-than-Human Design: Prosthetic Habitats for the Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua)." In Impact - Design with All Senses: Proceedings of the Design Modelling Symposium, Berlin 2019, edited by Gengnagel, Christoph, Baverel, Olivier, Burry, Jane, Thomsen, Mette Ramsgaard, and Weinzierl, Stefan, 554–4. Cham: Springer, 2020. https://doi.org/10/dbkp.
Presentations
2019, Ethics of Interspecies Design, invited presentation, Researching Ethically with (Other) Animals, international workshop, Deakin Critical Animal Studies, Melbourne, AU.
2019, Towards Interspecies Art: Prosthetic Habitats in Human and Owl Cultures, peer-reviewed paper presentation, SPECTRA Conference, major international conference, Australian Network for Art and Technology, Adelaide.
Press
Dan, P., Roudavski, S., Isaac, B., Soanes, K., Bradsworth, N. and Jones, T. 2020/03/24, Urban Owls Are Losing Their Homes. So We’re 3D Printing Them New Ones, AU.
Hessey, R. 2020, interview with S. Roudavski, Prosthetic Urban Homes: Ecology, interview about prosthetic habitats, designers: S. Roudavski and D. Parker, Monday Drive, Eastside FM, 89.7, AU.
Richter, J. 2020, interview with B. Isaac, Prosthetic Urban Homes: Ecology, interview about prosthetic habitats, designers: S. Roudavski and D. Parker, Shoalhaven Community Radio, UUU FM, AU.
Heggen, B. 2020, interview with S. Roudavski and B. Isaac, Prosthetic Nests for the Powerful Owl, interview about Radio interview, How Good Is Nature, ABC Radio Melbourne, AU.
Gracie, E. and Mendoza, S. 2020, interview with S. Roudavski, High Tech Urban Owl Homes, The Daily, 2ser Radio, 107.3FM, AU.
Barlass, T. 2019, 'Will Powerful Owls Give Two Hoots for 'LEGO' Prosthetic Nest Box?', Sydney Morning Herald 13 September 2019.
Acknowledgements
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