Riverlands Avian Observatory

Sited next to a constructed wetland, the observatory mitigates the impact of visitors to an ecologically sensitive site while permitting close observation of over 300 avian species. Developed in partnership with the Audubon Society and US Army Corps ecologists, the project provides space for education and outreach while helping to promote biodiversity and conservation. The design process utilized an array of computational analyses and design techniques to produce a durable and passive structure that was digitally fabricated and constructed with students as part of a design-build studio at Washington University in St. Louis led by Andrew Colopy and Ken Tracy.

Created with students Nike Cao, Emily Chen, Wassef Dabboussi, Duan Duan, Can Fu, Jina Kim, Masha Konopleva, Chun Liu, Joe Lomas, Yiyang Min, David Orndorff, Yiming Pan, Glenn Park, Chris Quinlin, Yu Rong, James Struthers, Yilong Wang, Nash Waters, Hao Wu, Yao Xia, Yu Xin, Shuojin Yang, Haosheng Zhang, and Han Zhu.