The interactive birdfeeder came out of a collaborative project with the Serpentine gallery in London's Hyde Park. The concept was to draw more widespread attention to the gallery by creating other ways for the public to engage with unusual ideas in a public setting.

 
 
  I knew that I wanted to reach the large number of park visitors who like to feed the birds on the shore of the serpentine. I conducted some user research, observing how people interacted with the birds. Then I made packs to hand out. They contained a short questionnaire, a biro to fill it in with and some bird feed. I spent a day loitering around the serpentine, handing out the packs and generally embarrasing myself.  
  Flickr tag "weirdo birdman" ??  
 

I aked people to choose a type of bird that they would like to feed. The choices were; Swan / Goose, Coot / duck and Pigeon / Gull.

Then in the questionnaire I asked people why they chose this bird and which was their least favourite bird.

Having collated and analysed my responses, I set about designing the birdfeeder. It was to be a large scale construction with interactive elements that let the user choose which birds they would like to bebfit and which they wanted to sabotage. The serpentine has strong architectural links and I wanted reference this to create architecture for birds, inspired by Berthold Lubetkin's 1934 pengiun pool at London Zoo.

I wanted to design an a slightly absurd structure for an absurd application to create an interesting and talked about landmark. The 1980's furniture of Memphis was also a key influence.

  
  By scattering feed into the corresponding zone, you can dupe pigeons into triggering a magnetic catapault which sends delicious bread high into the air. A treat for seagulls and spectators alike.  
  This device releases solenoids that are supporting a feeding platform. If a bird is on it at the time, it will flap around in confusion as the earth falls away beneath it. Aimed at pigeons and triggered by enterprising geese, this is a perfect exercise is ornathological egalitarianism.  
  A similar platform vibrates violently when triggered. Watch as those greedy birds risk a shock to go back for more!