The images to the left is a prototype of this large public art project. The prototype was exhibited at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts during the 20th anniversary of the infamous MAEP program.

This installation help me win the prestigious Bush Foundation Fellowship.

Bird City is a proposal to create a miniature city designed to become a sanctuary for indigenous birds. The actual project will occupy a one-acre island at a scale of 1:50, making a 50 story building approximately 12 feet tall.

This prototype of Bird City represents 6 city blocks at full scale and contained 10 live pigeons as occupants. The actual outdoor installation will not be caged–the idea is to attract birds indigenous to the area.

The city will be constructed during two summer-long workshops in the first two years, and an international architectural design invitational in the third and final year. The workshops will be conducted by a team of artists working with student interns from across the country.

  • The first year will see the city through various periods in architecture up to the nineteenth century.
  • The second year will evaluate, expand and modernize Bird City, carrying it chronologically through the twentieth century to the present.
  • The third year will take the city into the future with the commissioning of twelve buildings to be designed and built by internationally-recognized visionary architects.
This model was built in my Minneapolis studio. I had this studio from 1980 to 1990. Against the back wall is a nottypine seudo kitchen. I say seudo, becaus ethe studio had no running water. When things got rough financially I had to live in my studio. I rigged up a shower in the bathroom at the other end of the building. Those were the days.