Birds Friends

The project for the new headquarters of the Birds & Friends Association is an opportunity to transform a rural plot into an environmental manifesto, providing a new centre that seeks to offset society's ecological footprint, promotes the conservation of native biodiversity and builds awareness about the protection of the environment, giving quality of life to exotic birds that cannot be introduced into our habitats.

Furthermore, the proposed space, besides being functional, is respectful of the environmental values of its surroundings. The proposal is thus based on converting the existing buildings into various spaces for the association's activities, such as infirmaries, storage, care areas and a diet room. For the aviaries, metal structures reminiscent of agricultural greenhouses are proposed, blending into the landscape.

These will be built using a modular and versatile structure that can adjust to changes or to the future arrival of birds. Priority is given to durable, easily dismountable materials, to reduce the footprint in a possible future without the centre, and to the construction of high-quality naturalised habitats for the birds, integrating the existing fruit trees inside the aviaries.

To reduce the environmental impact, a foundation system based on technopieux screw piles was chosen which, besides not affecting the existing trees, is also fully removable. The aviary flooring will be a 10cm layer of gravel, compatible with the trees, easy to clean and replace, and keeping the impact on the surroundings to a minimum. This approach will guarantee the sustainability of the project and its harmony with the environment.

Finally, the proposal includes the construction of gravel and planted beds which, through phytodepuration, will treat the centre's grey and black wastewater so it can be reused to irrigate the plot.