Top Architects Design Birdhouses for Charity Auction
Hosted by Christie’s during London’s Frieze Week, the “Architects for the Birds” sale will raise funds for brain cancer treatment
Ten of the world’s leading architects are coming together in the name of charity to create birdhouses that will be auctioned off by Christie’s to raise funds for brain cancer treatment. “Architects for the Birds” was initiated by Marie Donnelly and Galerie Creative Mind Norman Foster, who invited nine fellow architects to interpret themes of sanctuary, hope, and care using a birdhouse.
“A researcher from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), commenting on the problems of modern buildings and birdlife, noted that ‘if you live in a minimalist architecture without bird-friendly features, you can at least put up some birdhouses,’” Norman Foster said in a news release. “In other words, there are good environmental reasons to encourage the design of facilities for birds, aside from the sheer pleasure of sharing the company of our feathered friends. This connection to nature, more recently called biophilia, is helpful for our physical and mental wellbeing. There is no better convening cause than that of the Tessa Jowell Foundation.”
In addition to Foster, Renzo Piano, David Chipperfield, Grafton Architects, Sou Fujimoto, Lina Ghotmeh, Jacques Herzog, Frieda Escobedo, Farshid Moussavi, and Kazuyo Sejima answered the call and created one-of-a-kind birdhouses, each with vastly different objectives and interpretations. For example, the David Chipperfield birdhouse, titled Station, draws from the elegant architecture of Japenese roofs, while the Frida Escobedo birdhouse is described as not a fixed object, but a system with open framework meant to be shaped by its inhabitants. The Norman Foster creation is meant to be adaptable to gardens, terraces or balconies, while the Sou Fujimoto Feeding Station is inspired by minimal intervention, seeking only to offer water and grain, but never shelter.
All ten of the bespoke creations will be featured in an upcoming exhibit open to the public during Frieze Week in London. At the conclusion, each house will be auctioned off at a private dinner hosted by Christie’s, with the proceeds going to the Tessa Jowell Foundation.
“Architects for Birds” will be on view at Christie’s King Street from October 8-14.