General 4 — Totems For The 21st Century

Sparrow Totem

WOHA’s first totem is designed to enhance the biodiversity of sky gardens.

Type of Totem:

Corporate Totem - suited for corporate and cultural organisations and environments

Target Species:

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Location:

WOHA Office, Chinatown, Singapore

Team:

Design: WOHA: Richard Hassell, Choon Heok Sim, Terence Chew, Simeon Chua, Yuqi Liew, Evanne Kok

Ecology: bioSEA: Anuj Jain, Saloni Swaminathan

Technology and Fabrication: Systmz: Ng Joo Kok, Sean Liew

Integrated Greenery: GWS: Zac Toh

Story:

This is the first prototype collection of totems. This is an example of a corporate totem, one that is suitable for a sky garden, forecourt or rooftop garden in a commercial or institutional building. While each totem is a stand-alone object, we thought it would be nice to design them as a collection.

This totem is designed for the Eurasian Tree Sparrow Passer montanus. It is a native bird that is declining in Singapore due to modernisation - it’s favourite nesting spots in the city are up in eaves of the old Chinese tiles of the shophouses - and while these buildings are conserved, they are being repaired and sealed up and their access points have disappeared. So while it is not an exciting, rare or exotic bird, we thought it was a good target for us, as it can still be found in the area, in small numbers, and we wonder if it will increase if provided with good homes! You can read more on the decline of sparrows in Singapore this BES article. After hearing they are nesting in electrical boxes, we thought they might like something safer!

We also like that is a social bird, so it suited our concept for a cluster of homes.

Ecological Brief:
These small birds don’t need a lot of room in their nestbox. Generally, if too big, a bigger bird might come and steal the nest, so the nest boxes should be just big enough, easy to defend. While they are called Tree Sparrows, they do actually nest in holes in buildings as well as holes in trees, as well as more typical nests built in branches. They do sometimes create shared nest clusters, so should enjoy our multiple nesting options.

Know the Species

We can use our knowledge as designers to create a long-lasting object that is a safe nesting spot for animals
Design with Humans in mind

An object that is beautiful to look at.
Design for Urban Environments

A totem can be an icon and a symbol of love for mother nature.

We are developing new versions of these totems in residential and civic projects in Singapore and Australia.

WhatsApp Image 2021-11-19 at 11.14.05 AM.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2022-03-11 at 12.07.17 PM.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2022-03-02 at 7.01.27 PM.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2022-03-02 at 7.01.18 PM.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2022-03-11 at 12.07.16 PM.jpeg

WhatsApp Image 2022-03-02 at 3.38.53 PM.jpeg

Totems Transparent.png — The final prototype was completed in June 2022.
A $5000 donation to World Land Trust was made alongside the construction of the totem. The amount donated was tripled to $15,000 by the Trust, which will help to protect the Guanacas Reserve – one of the few remaining cloud forests in Colombia’s Antioquia region.

Learn more

Sponsors :

WOHA

WOHA work at all scales, from buildings to masterplans, and see their projects as living systems that are connected to the city as a whole. With every project, the practice aims to create a matrix of interconnected human-scaled environments. These spaces foster community, enable stewardship of nature, generate biophilic beauty, activate ecosystem services and build resilience.