MUZ YER
Installation No7 Ile Moulin du Comte
Rennes, France 2022

Red wall / Mur rouge
The Tham & Videgård project is located on the Ile Moulin du Comte, a small island in the river Vilaine floating through central Rennes. From studying some of the specific species this birdhouse is aimed for – among those Wagtail, Blue tit, Black Redstart, Flycatcher and Robin – it was concluded that they all need fairly small units placed not too far above the ground.

With the starting point in its double function of habitat and sculptural object, we looked for a simple principle to generate a piece that with little use of material could still produce some architectural depth. Inspired by paper planes, or swallows, that children play with, a kind of basic origami, we proposed a zigzagging section of steel sheets that creates a pleated and folded geometry. The result is a wall that observed from the side is seemingly without thickness but within its pleated structure hides a small colony of bird’s nests. Like a tree in a forest there is no front nor back, just different appearances of light and shadow shifting as one approaches and moves around this habitable wall.

The entire construction consists of eight interlocking pyramid shaped nests that together provide structural stability. It is painted bright red, the complementary colour of its natural green environment.

About Muz Yer:
Muz Yer is a permanent public exhibition in Rennes, France. Tham & Videgård was invited along with 8 internationally-renowned architects to design birdhouses that highlight the relationship between contemporary architecture and nature. Each birdhouse serves as a response to one or more of the 13 bird species designated by the Birds Protection Committee (Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux – LPO), and raises awareness of the architectural heritage of Rennes and its urban ecology. The list of exhibitors includes Kengo Kuma & Associates, Tham & Videgard, a/LTA, Duncan Lewis, Julien De Smedt, ADEPT, Marion Normand, and Dominique Perrault Architects & Gaëlle Lauriot-Prévost Design.