Grand designs contest to find best bijou bat box
— 02 Oct 2017
We are challenging fledgling designers to create a bijou bat box suitable for a historic or listed building.
Jonathan Rhind Architects has launched a competition to find the most inspired design for a heritage home for 50 bats.
The winning bat box design will be built and installed on one of our projects. The winner will also take home up to £250 in prize money.
Julian Clayton, Senior Architect at Jonathan Rhind Architects said: “As a practice specialising in the repair and renovation of historic buildings, we often have to consider bats in our work and look at what we must do to support them.
“Although the standard bat boxes are adequate in providing a home for bats, they are often far from ideal to be attached to the side of a church or listed building, as they simply don’t complement the aesthetic.
“We have launched this competition to find a bat box that will help to retain the original character of historic buildings, as well as providing a roosting place for bats.”
Julian continued: “Not only will this competition help us to find a new way of housing bats, we also want to inspire people to be creative, think outside the box and research how they can support nature through design.”
The company is frequently involved in commissioning ecologists to assess and report on how bats and their habitats can be protected in compliance with The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010. This usually results in a requirement to install alternative accommodation for the bats in the form of a bat box.
Entries are to be judged by leading figures in nature conservation and historic building conservation in the region, as well as Julian Clayton.
Entries will be divided into two categories: Best entry by a person under 16 and best entry by a person 16 and over. First, second and third place prizes will be awarded in each category, with £50, £100 and £150 prize money for the under 16 category and £50, £100 and £250 for the over 16 category.
Ahead of the competition, the team have worked on some of their own designs, to give entrants some inspiration, available to view on their website.
Deadline for entries is Monday 9th October 2017, with winners to be announced on Monday 13h November 2017.
Entries should be sent to [email protected].
For full terms and conditions, competition brief and information pack, see downloadable pdf with this article..
