design indaba 2012: porky hefer of animal farm

‘weaver’s nest – nettleton road’ by porky hefer all images courtesy of porky hefer, animal farm

biomimicry is a discipline whereby the design of nature and its various systems are examined and emulated in order to create sustainable solutions to solve real world problems.

analyzing the methods in which members of the ploceidae, or weaver bird family craft their beautifully artistic and humble dwellings, south african designer porky hefer of animal farm, one of this year’s design indaba conference speakers, references their intricate construction process and has produced a series of large-scale nests fit for humans based on the birds’ techniques.

porky’s series of ‘weaver’s nests’ have no real inner steel framework. each are meticulously crafted out of all natural materials such as bark and branches and woven in such a way that the final form offers a sturdy retreat fit for at least 2 adults.

detail of the ‘nettleton road’ nests which features a slide

porky’s latest ‘weaver’s nest’ is one located on nettleton road, cape town, south africa, which consists of two dwelling spaces which can be accessed via a slide. each of his creations is a one-off created for a specific location or client. they differ in size depending on the site location and client’s needs.

up close look at the slide and internal structure

some of the weaver’s nests function as proper tree houses

a weaver’s nest perched slightly above ground in a tree 2 x 1.9 x 1.9 m ‘weaver’s nest – mark 2’ made in collaboration with mthobeli bakana has room for two adults installation at tokara’s olive barn in stellenbosch, south africa 2.5 x 2 x 1.7 m

construction of ‘mark 2’

‘weaver’s nest’ on stilts installed in babylonstoren, south africa

view of frame construction

weaver bird nest case studies and references

drawings of different weaver bird nest typologies

weaver’s nests sketches: