Avian Observatory
A unique bird watching experience for visitors to the Audubon Center at Riverlands along the Mississippi River
Located along the Mississippi flyway at the confluence of the Illinois, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers
The intent is not to blend in - just the opposite
On the exterior, we studied ideas of camouflage and discovered birds aren’t bothered by the building, but rather the activity and presence of people. Instead of hiding the structure, it stands out from the context to attract visitors while concealing the people within through shaded apertures that blend into the exterior patterning.
Individual removable panels adapt to the contingency of flooding
Awards:
AIA STL Distinguished Architecture Award
ACSA Design-Build Award
Architizer A+ Award Finalist
Collaborators: Andrew Colopy, Ken Tracy, Nike Cao, Emily Chen, Wassef Dabboussi, Duan Duan, Can Fu, Jina Kim, Masha Konopleva, Chun Liu, Joe Lomas, Yiyang Min, David Orndorff, Yiming Pan, Glenn Park, Chris Quinlin, Yu Rong, James Struthers, Yilong Wang, Nash Waters, Hao Wu, Yao Xia, Yu Xin, Shuojin Yang, Haosheng Zhang, Han Zhu
Support: The Audubon Center at Riverlands, Paul Bauer, Robert Booth, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rivers Project Office, Phill Shinn, Washington University in St. Louis Graduate School of Architecture