Animal Transit

1/2 graduation projects for Design Academy Eindhoven.

|| I created a transparent Aqua Bridge allowing marine life to travel between bodies of water separated by roads and a book compiling my research findings, including a huge catalogue of over 40 species I encountered in and around the city! ||

I

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have always been curious about the future, particularly the future of our cities. As urban areas grow and the surrounding areas get swallowed up by farm land, local wildlife have nowhere to turn but the cities. Many species are also realising that humans are very wasteful, giving off precious food and heat.

With Animal Transit I tracked the animals of Eindhoven. Water birds thrive in around the cities canals, and small mammals make the forests and parks their homes. I photographed all the animals I could, but to find the most elusive creatures I created tracking tunnels with food bait and natural dye at each entrance to collect foot prints from the animals that passed through.

Through my research, in the field as well as through conversation with local experts, I found that habitat fragmentation is one of the largest threats to wildlife worldwide. This lead me to thinking of ways to reconnect natural habitats that are trapped in the city.

I chose to focus on the waterways of Eindhoven, as they are the lifeline of the local wildlife. I prototyped solutions for bridging bodies of water, and in the end I proposed an Aqua Bridge that allows fish and other marine life to swim between the Eindhovensch Kanaal and the Dommel, greatly increasing the area they can search for food and mates as well as escape from predators. The 60m transparent structure would also put the river water on display, giving the city and it's inhabitants a much stronger incentive to keep the water clean.

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Type

designer, photographer, ecologist

Methods

laser cutting, interview, design research, 3d modelling

Materials

Cardboard, Acrylic, Natural Dyes

Softwares

Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Indesign, Blender 3D

Next project by Erik Melander