Durham Bird Boxes

The initial brief to design and fabricate a single bird box for Durham's riverside peninsula evolved into a re-evaluation of the historic landscape that surrounds the Cathedral and Castle World Heritage sites. In a landscape where little has changed since the City's defensive foreground became overgrown 200 years ago, the bird boxes are an acceptable new intervention, exempt from conservation and planning constraints, and a means of focusing the current diverse land ownership into discussing the collective management of the riverside. With the assistance of the Wearhead Primary School children and the RSPB, a family of 25 bird boxes was developed; each sized and tailored to the specific requirements of the particular species found in the region. The boxes now form part of a wider initiative to create a 21-mile park along the River Wear.