Birds, bees and bats will soon enjoy a multi-flat hotel near Linköping

The curious building is located at the entrance to a nature reserve

At the beginning of February, the Municipality of Linköping gave an update on a project that was begun in August 2020 - that is the construction of a new environmentally friendly building to adorn the entrance to the Tinnerö nature reserve, located only 2 kilometres from the Swedish city.

The body of the building itself is already completed but there is still important work to be done on its roof and facades. The roof is expected to be covered in plants, whereas the external walls will be transformed into a multi-story ‘hotel’ for many of the small flying representatives of the local fauna, such as birds, bees and bats. The plan is to install some 300 nests that will host the animals.

The Tinnerö nature reserve is home to oak forests

The building has been designed with multi-functionality in mind, a nod to local history and heritage as well as with the idea of causing as little impact to its surroundings as possible. These are increasingly becoming the new standards in contemporary architectural thinking.

The entrance edifice is 20 metres long, 10 metres wide and is shaped a little bit like the letter ‘y’. This shape is not coincidental as it is meant to be a throwback to the longhouses that must have been built in these parts during the Iron Age.

“The combination of creating an entrance that has its architectural origins in the Iron Age and at the same time creating great conservation benefits with lots of habitats for small insects, birds and hopefully also bats, also with a significant part of the building material produced in Tinnerö, feels great,” said Anders Jörneskog, a municipal ecologist.

The building has also been compared to binoculars given that the its smallest walls are transparent and look out onto the oak and meadows landscape on one side, and onto the bird-rich wetlands on the other.

It will also serve as a shelter for visitors during bad weather, as well as convenient classroom space for school outings. It is expected to get its final look in May, just in time for the summer season.