The Story: The plight of New York City’s celebrated red-tailed hawks, Pale Male and Lola, has captured the hearts of bird watchers around the nation. Dan Ionescu Architects has been working in tandem with experts from Audubon and various city agencies to develop a viable solution that will alleviate the damaging effects of a nest on a Landmark designated building, while promoting a safer environment for the residents, pedestrians and birds.

The Challenge: Construct a platform capable of supporting the nest as well as securing it in place away from the surface of the building façade.  Maintain the original location of the nest in the same place, secure and familiar to the hawks. Make provision to allow for future repairs to the façade. Better confine the nest and provide additional protection below from nest debris.

The Design Solution: We created a detachable structure that will allow for the reconstruction of the nest and, if necessary, temporary removal for façade inspection and maintenance.

Built of stainless steel material the structure comprises the following:

• The support:
• 1 ¼” pipe frame following the contour of the pediment and connected to the limestone surface of the facade that will float slightly elevated above the terracotta pediment (the old support of the nest)
• The Cradle:
• 12 GA expanded metal shaped to follow the curvature of the support will act as the base layer for the nest, allowing for drainage.
• 3/8” square profile rods will be welded to the expanded metal surface creating additional protection and precluding twigs from falling on each side of the pediment.
• Original pigeon spikes will be welded in place to the underside of the extended metal structure.
• original pigeon spikes will be welded in place to the underside of the expanded metal to show through the expended metal and allow the hawks to start the rebuilding of the nest