Architecture for Bats

categories: Solutions, Wildlife & Biodiversity

Published August 04, 2009 @ 08:31PM PT

Bat Spiral bat habitat, by architecture firm friend and company

As we continue to transform the climate at a blistering pace, what responsibilities do we have to help other species adapt and thrive to the fast-warming world?

Take bats, veryimportant critters: They eat many times their own body weight in insects every evening; they pollinate plants; they spread seeds. And these services are not limited to the countryside; even here in megalopolis New York City, bats nosh on insects nightly (in warmer weather) in our city parks. And just like all the rest of us, they need safe places to live and rest.

Enter the Bat Spiral. UK architecture firm friend and company has created an elevated habitat that can provide roosting space for at least 330 bats, across 17 species of bats native to Britain.

Twenty-four different types of timber roosts are positioned within the concrete spiral as if they were the spokes of a wheel," according to the designers. "Each roost position is determined by the orientation of the sun, shade and prevailing winds. The roosts are painted black externally to maximize heat gain from the sun...

Gaps between the concrete beams allow multiple access points for the bats. The roosts span the concrete beams to create four levels of habitation...Maternity and mating roosts can be added to meet the particular needs of each bat species...At the cener of the spiral is a hub of cameras, which allow visitors to view the roosts from a remote hide without disturbing the bats.

According to Bat Conservation International, climate change is already putting a lot of stress on bat populations. The Bat Spiral doesn't offer a direct solution to that problem. It does suggest, though, that as we face adapting our cities and infrastructure to changing conditions created by global warming, we're very capable of designing our own environments with ample accommodation for the needs of other species.

(Via BLDGBLOG)

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