Cheng Tsung FENG designs floating duck shelters

 

Cheng Tsung FENG has completed a floating shelter for call ducks as part of his ongoing Nesting Plan series, a body of work that translates the nest-building strategies of animals into architectural design. Human construction techniques and woven rope materials bring the design to life. Previous works in the series include structures inspired by the Gray-Cheeked Fulvetta, Green-backed Tit, Crested Serpent Eagle, White Wagtail, and Black Bulbul.

 

Commissioned by Swiio Villa Yilan, the latest project introduces a shelter system designed for the ducks inhabiting the villa’s pond. The shelters provide protection from seasonal conditions, including Taiwan’s hot summers and typhoon periods, while creating comfortable living spaces for the animals.

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
all images by FIXER Photographic Studio

 

 

pinecone-like wooden huts provide refuge for ducks

 

Artist Cheng Tsung FENG began the design process with research and prototype testing. An initial hut was placed in the pond, and the ducks’ interactions with it were recorded by the villa staff. This feedback informed a series of refinements, including adjustments to buoyancy and window height, ensuring the structures matched the ducks’ natural behaviors and preferences.

 

The final installation consists of four floating wooden huts, each built in different scales and proportions to accommodate the pond’s population and movement patterns. The shelters are clad in slanted wooden shingles arranged in overlapping layers, providing ventilation and weather resistance while recalling the geometry of a pinecone. Circular windows were incorporated into each hut, allowing visibility both for the ducks and for villa guests, who can observe them using telescopes provided on-site. Inside, the huts are fitted with automatic lighting that activates during winter nights or at designated times, creating warmth for the ducks and producing an illuminated display across the water in the evening.

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
Cheng Tsung FENG designed floating shelters for call ducks at Swiio Villa Yilan

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
the series translates nest-building strategies of animals into architectural design

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
the design provides ducks with protection from wind and rain

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
the final installation includes four floating huts in varied scales

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
overlapping wooden shingles create protective and ventilated shells

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
different sizes accommodate the ducks’ population and movement patterns

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
the shingle arrangement recalls the geometry of a pinecone

four floating wooden huts shape cheng tsung feng's duck nest installations
circular windows allow ducks to peek outside the shelters