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Location: Yokohama, Japan
Date: 2001
Architects: Casagrande & Rintala
Organization: Yokohama Triennale 2001
Photographs: Nikta Wu

Project Description

Bird Cage was a project by Casagrande & Rintala created for the 2001 Yokohama Triennale.

It consisted of a 5 meter high cocoon-like cone, constructed from hemp rope and steel, situated in the harbor of Yokohama. Every day during the Triennale, a bird constructed out of balsa wood was flown out the top of the structure, rising up to 10 kilometers on a meteorological balloon. 

A hangar building out of hemp rope and re-bar launching balsa-birds with Vaisala meteorological balloons up to 10 km hight where the balloon burst and the bird starts gliding. 

The bird carries a test tube and 5 basic Japanese vegetable seeds. 

When each balloon burst, the bird glided down slowly, to land somewhere in Japan, depending on prevailing winds. 

Each bird carried five seeds (rice, wheat, soy, oat and bean) and a message asking the finder to plant the seeds. 

The finder of the bird is asked to plant the vegetation and contact