Rachael M Johnson - Indreland Audubon Wetland Preserve

PROBLEM:

The Audubon Society is seeking to develop the wetlands donated by the Indreland's in order to preserve it for bird habitation. As a non-profit, the organization will rely heavily on donations for the project. As such, the goal of this project was to attract donors for the site so that the wetland may be preserved.

THESIS:

Those who move to Bozeman and currently live here enjoy the peace of being outdoors, the health benefits associated with it, and the activities it provides. By understanding the desires of the community, this project aimed to create a preserve that connects the community while providing a secluded area for respite from town for both the birds and human visitors.

STRATEGY:

   PART 1: Connect the site to the Bozeman trail system in order to capture major influencers in the community. This is done by developing the already existing berm and looping it around the edge of the site back to the major trail system. The elevated berm protects the wetland from majority of trail users.
   PART 2: Develop a small loop around the perimeter of the site. The loop expands opportunities to capture community members support while also creating a 25-foot buffer zone between the city and the inner bird sanctuary of the site.
   PART 3: Creation of biophilically inspired pavilions on the fringes of the bird habitats. Through the use of biophilic design, these human occupied areas give visitors respite from town while also camouflaging them from the birds inhabitants. Each pavilion is inspired by the nesting habitats of each bird type found on the site.

KILLDEER BIRD PAVILION: The killdeer bird is a very shy ground-nesting bird. The pavilion camouflages human viewers from the birds, similar to how killdeer bird nests are camouflaged from predators. The pavilion is seasonally accessible to further give the killdeer birds respite from human interference.

WOOD DUCK PAVILION: The curved pillars holding up the ADA ramp are designed to act as 'tree hollows' where the wood duck nests, so creating a structure for human and bird use.

BITTERN PAVILION: Designed to be seasonally accessible, so further giving bitterns a respite from human interference. The low/in-ground space with camouflage mimics the nesting pattern of bitterns and places human viewing on the same level as the birds.

SANDHILL CRANE PAVILION: Seasonal flooding below the pavilion mimics the water-level nests of the sandhill crane. This pavilion elevates human viewers above and away from the sandhill crane nests while also providing a view of the birds as well as the Bridger Mountains.

SONG SPARROW PAVILION: The ADA ramp spirals around the nesting habitat of the song sparrow- amongst the trees. This creates a connection between the lower, ground level trail, to the berm level trail.

Parametric Roof Plans - Models created using Grasshopper and Rhino