Ninho – Prototype of a Bio-Urban Equipment | Atelier Marko Brajovic

Roberta Gewehr

Ninho – Prototype of a Bio-Urban Equipment

• Architects

Atelier Marko Brajovic invites visitors at CASACOR to experience, through their physical, emotional, sensory, and intellectual bodies, how architecture and design go far beyond human creations, and how animal architecture can inspire us to see cities in a more synergistic way. The Forest Cities of the future will integrate the biomimetic learning from how animals build and also create conditions for non-human animals to once again inhabit our urban environments.

Ninho is a prototype of a bio-urban equipment inspired by the constructions of the boldest and most innovative birds — those that make use of natural and recycled elements found at the margins of human architectures.

photo_credit Roberta Gewehr — Roberta Gewehr

This hybrid form encourages critical thinking about the boundaries between what is considered natural or artificial, about constructive technology at different scales and materials, and ultimately, about how to design futures within a new ecology of the Anthropocene.

The prefabricated structure made of pinewood and recycled plastic is conceived as a light structure that gently lands in an existing square without interfering with the ecological context of the park. This permeable, resilient, and sensorial environment welcomes and invites people to slow down and reconnect — with each other, with other beings, with the sky, and with the trees.

From a functional point of view, during the course of the event, the Ninho space proposes the following uses:

Lounge – A reception, gathering, connection, and communication space between humans and non-humans. A place to lie down, look at the sky, and talk about dreams.

Expedition Point – A small arena-shaped area for lectures and educational talks, and a meeting point for nature experience outings in the Parque da Água Branca.

Animal Architects Exhibition – A display of images, project diagrams, descriptions, models, and examples of animal-built architectures.

ANIMAL ARCHITECTS EXHIBITION
The Animal Architects Exhibition, conceived and curated by Atelier Marko Brajovic, surrounds the Ninho installation and presents the processes and outcomes of architectural constructions by a selection of animal species. It also explores the interactions between human and animal-built architectures, their relationships, and inspirations.

The exhibition is organized into three thematic areas, structuring the curatorial concept of the Animal Architects exhibition:

BIRD AND INSECT ARCHITECTS
Animal architects are presented along with descriptions of their behavior and relationships with the natural and social environments. The information is accompanied by illustrations, diagrams of construction processes, examples of materials used, and exhibits of the architectures they build. The exhibition highlights common motivations in nest design — such as protection, reproductive attraction, nomadism, and sedentism — and social-instinctive logics of construction and organization, such as collective efforts, cooperation with other animal or plant species, and adaptability.

HUMAN MAMMAL ARCHITECTS
Architecture and design projects inspired by Nature’s intelligence. A selection of national and international projects proposing biomimetic solutions, based on analysis of animal architectures, addressing topics of interest for designers and human architects. Biomimicry and inspirations from nature manifest through materials, structural systems, technological and behavioral solutions.

MULTISPECITY – THE CITY FOR HUMAN AND NON-HUMAN LIFE
Civility must be considered collectively, involving an understanding of both human and non-human inhabitants, sharing and evolving cities together. How can we design our cities to accommodate other species? And what are the concrete initiatives already addressing this?

CURATORIAL TEXT – ANIMAL ARCHITECTS
Long before humans existed, termites created air-conditioning systems in cities with millions of individuals, satellite towns, and highways leading to work. Bees may have taught the Chinese how to make paper, or the Indians how to build with clay. Birds construct complex and delicate nests to protect themselves, attract mates, and raise their young.

Since time immemorial, animals have used fibers, stones, clay, wax as building materials. Sometimes, these materials are even produced physiologically, with high-tech characteristics in both structure and manufacturing. They build shelters, entrances, chambers, waterproofing systems, and even entire cities in ingenious ways — often with techniques more advanced than those of human architects. The design process used by animals is instinctive and tool-free. They use paws, mouths, or beaks to achieve brilliantly complex and elegant architectural results.

They also evolve their own architectures and adapt to ever-changing external environments, inhabiting not only primary ecosystems but also our cities. Birds that build nests using plastic; bees that make homes inside bricks, cracks, or roof tiles; entire mammal colonies adapted to urban ecosystems.

SQUARE LANDSCAPING
Finally, in the external square area hosting the Animal Architects exhibition, landscape designer Ana Kamitsuji revitalizes garden beds by creating small biodiversity support nuclei for pollinators and seed dispersers, emphasizing native and local species.