In England's industrial center of Leeds, populations of bats, birds, and butterflies have been declining as urban areas expand into wild habitats. In the hopes of bringing animal populations back, a city-backed business council held a design competition for animal-friendly urban structures. The winner was 26-year old Neil Oxlee, who designed 40-foot towers that could function as urban high-rises for animals.Oxlee hopes that his towers could "provide a habitat for bats, birds, butterflies, insects and even foxes" although, as he says "I'm not an animal expert, if it goes further we'd need to get a wildlife expert on board... to see exactly which ones eat the other ones."Indeed. But even if it's hard to get foxes and sparrows living harmoniously in the same tower (and I suspect it would be), I could imagine some version of this idea working well for birds and insects, especially in dense urban spaces where actual trees are few and far between.Via Archinect.
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