Birds

Bureau Stadsnatuur Bureau Stadsnatuur

Two well placed guides help us to follow their flight: in cooperation with Triënnale Brugge, we invite Studio Ossidiana and Bureau Stadsnatuur, in search of unique encounters with our feathered friends. The work of Studio Ossidiana (NL) – who are participating in Triënnale Brugge – is hugely imaginative. How can we shape coexistence with other species? How can we provoke encounter, and enjoy sharing space with other species? Their poetic installations show a utopian vision of the relationship between humans and animals.

Dutch-Italian Studio Ossidiana has a penchant for birds and has already designed several pavilions for pigeons, picnic tables for geese and follies for parrots. Recently, their work is expanding into the development of edible materials that stage human-animal interaction. Their work is a joyful, welcoming and poetic invitation to meet our fellow creatures.

In this special evening we connect their work to Bureau Stadsnatuur (NL), which has been doing fieldwork on the evolution of nature in the city for decades as an independant practice within the Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam. From their observations, they develop studies on urbanism and building methods and enthusiastically advocate for the possible metropolis of tomorrow: the nature-inclusive city, a society 2.0.

Alessandra Covini, Studio Ossidiana

Riccardo de Vecchi Studio Ossidiana, Buyukada Songlines


Riccardo de Vecchi Studio Ossidiana, The Pigeon Tower


Riccardo de Vecchi Studio Ossidiana, The Birds Palace

Studio Ossidiana (2015, Rotterdam, NL) is led by architects Alessandra Covini (°1988, Milan, IT) and Giovanni Bellotti (°1987, Pavia, IT). The Rotterdam-based firm works at the intersection of art and architecture, using material and form to explore how to broaden our thinking on inclusive use of space. With their projects, temporary or permanent, they seek to generate new encounters between humans and animals and thus to re-anchor our relationship with nature in our built environment.
By introducing new typologies or playful rituals, they encourage a different view of the everyday and establish new connections. As with the Pigeon Tower *(2021), where a sculptural totem in the midst of Venice provides another feeding spot for birds in the city. Or *Art Pavilion M. at the Floriade (2020), a floating island inspired by the landscape of the Flevopolder, where geography is fused with art and architecture.
Studio Ossidiana’s work was recently shown at the Istanbul Biennial (2019), the Chicago Architecture Biennial (2021) and the 23rd Triennale di Milano, where they were recognised for Have we met? with an award for their innovative approach. In 2023, the firm won the Premio italiano di Architettura 2023 with the Arts Pavilion M.

Niels de Zwarte, Bureau Stadsnatuur

Bureau Stadsnatuur Bureau Stadsnatuur


Bureau Stadsnatuur Bureau Stadsnatuur


Bureau Stadsnatuur Bureau Stadsnatuur

Bureau Stadsnatuur (bSR) is a small organisation, founded in 1997, with considerable expertise in the field of nature in the urban environment. bSR is part of and based at the Natuurhistorisch Museum Rotterdam. In recent years, bSR has gained extensive experience in ecological research through inventories, monitoring networks and volunteer projects for flora and fauna in the urban area. This has contributed to a wealth of knowledge about the flora and fauna of the city of Rotterdam in general and the Rotterdam port area in particular. This has established bSR as the knowledge centre in the field of flora and fauna in Rotterdam. Bron: bureaustadsnatuur.nl

Bruges Triennial 2024
13.04 – 01.09.2024

With Spaces of Possibility, Triennial Bruges takes to the streets of the historic city centre and Zeebrugge for almost five months with contemporary art and architectural installations.
Together with 12 artists and architects from all over the world, Triennial Bruges will hold up the slumbering potential of the ever-changing city for its fourth edition. How can a Unesco-protected historic city, where preservation is central, deal with concepts such as change and sustainability, and how can contemporary art and architecture create a new framework for this? With artistic interventions, the artists and architects challenge existing sites, connect city parts and search for hidden beauty.

Programme: triennalebrugge.be