ANIMA seeks for homes to be part of a living environment. To be in harmony with living space, through processes of negotiation and mutual respect. As such we have designed a series of homes for the zoological neighbours.
We reject the idealisation of nature as a passive and serene other, where a cabin becomes a way to acquire a sublime view. The separation of inhabitant from environment robs nature of agency and thus of respect.
The ecological designs are incorporated into the structures, but can also be stand alone. They are our offer to exist in nature as equals.
‘As part of a living environment, a home itself is also living. The home acts. The home responds. The home breathes and ages; it braces and embraces; it admits and shelters. No exceptions’
We cater for two more common species of owl; Barn and Spotted Eagle. They are designed in accordance with BirdLife South Africa’s guidelines and in consultation with ‘Radical Raptors’.
The owl nesting boxes are constructed from thermally-treated pine panels, marine plywood and an SA pine frame. The timbers require no additional treatment and are built using the same principals and philosophies as our human homes.
Owls exist for their own purposes. They are not here for us. However, they have much to teach us and benefit our communities and the environment. They provide free, natural, pest control. They also offer paranormal wisdom, regal silence, and fierce intelligence.
Bats need different roosting conditions at different times of the year and they will often move around to find a roost that meets their needs. Some bats prefer hollow trees, some like caves and some use both at different times. Human development has encroached on woodland and other wild spaces, so bats have adapted to roost in buildings.
Our box boxes can be incorporated into the lower part of the building, in the panels below window openings. They are constructed from thermally-treated pine panels and rough textured plywood. While the cavities are created by an SA pine frame. The timbers require no additional treatment and are built using the same principals and philosophies as our human homes.
Many species of bats are now threatened with extinction, mainly because of people's negative attitudes towards them. Insectivorous bats are important regulators of insect populations and feed particularly on arthropods that damage crops. They also help control mosquitos.
Fruit bats pollinate and disperse the seeds of hundreds of species of plants and economically important products, including the boabab and more obvious fruit trees.
‘Bats are not rodents and they don’t nibble on wood, wires and other bits and pieces in buildings’. Bats pose no serious health risks to people. They should be welcomed guests — a colony of 300 000 long-fingered bats in the De Hoop Nature Reserve consumes an estimated 100 tonnes of insects per year.
