rope swing changes into a bowl feeder for birds by flipping the wooden seat

Bird feeder transforms into a rope swing for children

Designers Seyeon Park and Yejin Hong conceive Birddy, a rope swing that turns into a bowl feeder for birds when the wooden seat flips. When children use Birddy, it works like any normal playground or rope swing. The round seat is designed to be safe and comfortable, and its size is just about the width of a dinner plate, so the young users can sit on it securely. The seat curves slightly inward to help prevent slipping when kids swing higher or faster. The handle can also be adjusted up or down, so children of different heights can hold it safely.

But Birddy has a secret. On rainy days, the swing can be flipped upside down. When this happens, it becomes a bowl feeder for the nearby birds. During rainy seasons, it collects water, turning the play equipment into a drinking spot for small animals. The bowl is not deep, so pets can drink safely without falling in. Sometimes, it can even hold food for birds, becoming a feeding place. It is also easy to make the switch by removing a small locking part, flipping the seat to become a bird feeder, and putting it back together when the children want to play on the rope swing.

all images courtesy of Seyeon Park and Yejin Hong

Birddy comes from the words ‘bird’ and ‘buddy’

At first glance, the rope swing that doubles as a bird feeder looks simple. It hangs from a rope, made of smooth wood, and children can sit on it and swing back and forth like on any playground. But Birddy has a bigger purpose, as the design team describes it. They also created it to help children understand how they are connected to animals and the environment. The designers wanted kids to learn, without a classroom or a lecture, that even small actions can help nature. The swing is called Birddy, as it comes from combining the words ‘bird’ and ‘buddy.’

It already tells what the swing is: a friend to birds and other small animals. The idea behind Birddy comes as well from an old tradition in Korea called ‘Kkachibap.’ In this tradition, people leave some fruit on trees after harvest so birds have food during the winter. The rope swing that flips into a bird feeder takes this old idea and gives it a modern form, that instead of fruit on trees, it uses playground equipment to provide for animals around cities and towns. Birddy, which received the Excellence Prize at the 2024 Kengo Kuma and Higashikawa KAGU Design Competition, can be installed almost anywhere: schools, parks, apartment courtyards, or nature learning centers. It is more than just a swing: a quiet teacher, showing children that caring for the world can start with play.

detailed view of the wooden seat

there’s a lock that allows the seat to flip

when flipped, the bowl can also collect rainwater

view of the wooden bowl

the bowl is not deep, so pets can drink safely without falling in

project info:

name: Birddy

design: Seyeon Park and Yejin Hong | @h.3.gaze