Canada's Studio North recently designed and built this appealing little A-frame shelter that sleeps up to two people. Named Birdhut, it's located in a forested garden in British Columbia, Canada, and features a novel facade that sports a dozen birdhouses designed to house a variety of local birds.
The Birdhut is installed on a hill and accessed by a small bridge. A nearby stone path connects it to a natural spring and campfire. It measures 100 sq ft (9.2 sq m) and includes a double bed, some plants, and shelving.
The shelter is raised 9 ft (2.7 m) off the ground using a cross-braced structure made from lodgepole pine trees foraged from a nearby forest recently ravaged by fire. The platform and cladding for the hut are made from planks reclaimed from an old cabin deck and its front facade consists of western red cedar shingles with holes of varying size cut out for the birds to nest inside.
Like the US$700 A-frame build, the Birdhut is partially clad in polycarbonate panels, warming the interior with the sun when the weather's right, and letting in plenty of light during the day. Ventilation comes from two small circular windows.
A little more thought went into the shelter's design than you might expect, considering its overall simplicity.
"The materials, form, and orientation of the Birdhut were designed to offer nesting opportunities for as wide a variety of local birds as possible," says Studio North. "The pileated woodpecker for instance, is a larger bird that seeks out a nesting space 15 to 25 ft (4.5 - 7.6 m) above ground, with a 4-in (10 cm) entry hole and an 8 x 8 x 24-in (20 x 20 x 61 cm) cavity. The warbler, on the other hand, is a smaller bird that typically nests 9 ft (2.7 m) above ground with a 1 1/8-in (2.8 cm) hole and a 4 x 4 x 6-in (10 x 10 x 15 cm) cavity.
Considering both the largest and smallest varieties of local birds, the hut sits 9 ft (2.7 m) off the ground, with its peak at 20 ft (6 m) above the ground and birdhouses scattered in between."
Source: Studio North
