Multi-Species House
Calling into question the current mode of designing for a single species, i.e., humans, sustainable architectural innovation resides in the paradigm shift from single-species to multi-species built environments. Focusing on the tree as both an example of multi-species successional systems and as a site of research-creation exploration, it is capable of supporting a multitude of species over the course of its lifecycle. In particular, the outer bark and sapwood hosts the hundreds of species necessary in supporting a healthy ecology. Notably in typical building practice, bark and sapwood is discarded from construction material, further displacing other species from the built environment.
At present there is no comprehensive literature or design framework for biodiverse built environments. As such, the rooftop garden houses a research-creation project examining multi-species design. The Chimney Swift is an at-risk bird species serving as the primary test subject of this research-creation exercise. Urban expansion influenced the Chimney Swifts adaptation from hollow old growth trees toward anthropogenic structures such as chimneys. Despite this shift, renovations and the lack-of accessible built environments further threaten the Chimney Swifts populations. Of more than 60 known artificial Chimney Swift habitats, there are no known instances of an occupied case study within North America. This design exercise explores the need to further examine the species-specific requirements in relation to its ecological context, notably the decline in its food source population of arial insects making for a precedent of multi-species design.
The Chimney Swift Tower uses 4 discarded sapwood boards to inherently serve as a multi-species substrate for inhabitation. These outer layers of the tree are inverted to create a vertical interior condition offering suitable inhabitation by the Swifts. Organic material in the form of insulation further attracts and supports various insects among early successional organisms. The monitoring of its inhabitation atop the rooftop garden provides critical insight into the process of Architectural Succession; transitioning in inhabitants and environmental conditions during its natural decomposition.