Year
2010Location
East Otto, NY, USADescription
To bring attention to bats as a significant part of our ecosystem, Bat Tower is a sculptural installation designed for bat inhabitation. Located adjacent to a pond in a sculpture park, the site hosts an abundance of mosquitoes and other insects. Bat-attracting vegetation is also planted within the base of the tower. To help facilitate bat-entry, the project’s ribbed construction includes a series of ‘landing pads’ near the top of the tower. A pattern of grooves on both vertical and horizontal surfaces allows bats to more easily climb into the tower and cling to its ‘ceilings.’ To provide a suitably warm interior for bat roosting, dark wood panels cover the tower’s inhabitation zone to absorb sunlight. Drawing from the idea of a vertical cave, the installation has a conspicuous presence, contrasting the invisibility of bats in the built environment.
Credits
By: Joyce Hwang.
Design Assistants: Thomas Giannino, Michael Pudlewski, Laura Schmitz, Nicole Marple, Mark Nowaczyk.
Construction Assistants: Michael Pudlewski, Laura Schmitz, Nicole Marple, Mark Nowaczyk, Dan Dimllo.
Installation Assistants: Matthieu Bain, Albert Chao, Joshua Gardner, Shawn Lewis, Sergio López-Piñeiro, Nellie Niespodzinski, Mark Nowaczyk, Michael Pudlewski, Joseph Swerdlin, Angela Wu.
Consultants: Katharina Dittmar (biology), Mark Bajorek (structural engineering), Dick Yencer (fabrication).
Funded by: New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), Independent Projects Grant, with Van Alen Institute as Fiscal Sponsor.
Supported by: New York State/United University Professions’ Dr. Nuala McGann Drescher Program; University at Buffalo, School of Architecture and Planning.
Photo credits: Albert Chao.
Selected Recognition
Building Urban Nature, authors: Piet Vollard, Jacques Vink, Niels de Zwarte (nai010 publishers, 2023).
The Philosophy of Dumbness, author: Joseph Choma(Oro Editions, 2020).
“Architecture for Animals in Urban Environment” in World Architecture Magazine, editors: Zhang Li, Xing Mengyao (2018).
“Typology: Building for Animals” by Tom Wilkinson, Architectural Review in (2018).
“architektura dia zwierzat” in Architektura od Wnetza, editor: Ewa P. Porebska (2016).
“Shelters for Animals, Bees, Bats, and Birds” in Arquitectura Viva – AV Proyectos, Director/Editor: Luis Fernández-Galiano (2014).
Natural Architecture Now, editor: Francesca Tatarella (Princeton Architectural Press, 22 Publishing, 2014).
Rough Guide to Sustainability, editor: Brian Edwards (RIBA Publishing, 2014).
“Bat Tower Builds Animal Architecture in Buffalo” by Elizabeth Fazzare, in Architects Newspaper (2013).
Contemporary Follies, editors: Keith Moskow and Robert Linn (Monacelli Press, 2012).
Art + Scape (Do Press Books, 2012).
Designnet 8 Volume 179 (2012).
“Bat Tower / Ants of the Prairie, Joyce Hwang” by Irina Verona, in Praxis - Eco-Logics, editors: Amanda Reeser Lawrence, Ashley Schafer (2011).
“A Tower Made for Bats” in The Dirt (2010).
“Architecture for Bats” by Nina Boccia, Paige Magarrey, Robert Such, in Azure (2010).
“Bat Tower in Griffis sculpture Park to Raise Awareness for Bats” by Bridgette Meinhold, in Inhabitat (2010).
“A High-Rise for Bats is a Natural Pesticide Program” by Alissa Walker, in Good (2010).
“A Professor Creates a Condo for Bats” (There’s a Lesson in It, Too)” by Lawrence Biemiller, in The Chronicle of Higher Education (2010).