Aviary, London Zoo, UK.

The remit for this project was to develop a visually lightweight and exciting aviary structure to house the new Stork and Ibis exhibit. The aviary abuts the existing grade II listed birdhouse and is clad with a tensioned polypropylene net, supported around the perimeter only from a series of cantilevering and tapered poles. The aviary form was generated and analysed using tensile structure software – the aim being to optimise the structural arrangement and account for the true behaviour of such a lightweight and flexible scheme. The aviary has been very successful and quickly became the zoos most popular exhibit.