LA + CREATURE (Live Brief)

LA + Creature is a brief that was inspired by the sighting of animals coming to places we humans usually spent time in because of the lockdown in different countries. The brief is to design something for any animals to help them coexist with humans.

Our group consisted of 3 people, me, Adeeb and Dhanesha and we chose squirrels to be our "client" for this project.

Based on our research we found that when squirrels get too close with us humans who are considered as predators to them, they tend to let other dangerous predators approach them and this is bad for them. So we decided to design something that will help them live in the same space as us in parks but still be far away.

The location we chose to focus is KL Lake Garden as there are many squirrels sightings there.

Here are the initial sketches that we made for the ideas

Squirrels love staying in trees and climbing so we decided to make something inspired by a bird house for the squirrels that will allow them to roam freely in trees far from us. We also chose a structure that could be made out of natural wood so that it will not be toxic to both the squirrels and the environment. We thought that it would be a great idea to put something there to be able to feed the squirrels but in the end the idea was rejected as it might not be very suitable for the some trees to accommodate the mechanism. We also decided to include parallel lines that connects each little structure to each other because squirrels zig zag when they run from predators.

In the end the second idea was chosen because it was more natural therefore more comfortable for the squirrels as they usually stay in tree holes.

This is our presentation

And here are the rendered illustrations of the work.

Bibliography

10 Nutty Facts to Make You Appreciate Squirrels •. (2019, August 14). The National Wildlife Federation Blog. https://blog.nwf.org/2015/01/10-nutty-facts-to-make-you-appreciate-squirrels/​

Black Giant Squirrel - Ratufa bicolor. (n.d.). Ecology Asia. https://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/mammals/black-giant_squirrel.htm​

Dean, L. (2014, May 7). The Impact of Humans on the Domestication of Squirrels. Jrscience. http://jrscience.wcp.miamioh.edu/nsfall99/FinalArticles/TheImpactofHumansontheDom.html#:%7E:text=We%20believe%20that%20squirrels%20living,a%20human%20to%20approach%20closer​

Harrison, J. L. (n.d.). Museums Department, Federation of Malaya, Malayan Squirrels. Unknown.​

Kaos, J. (2006, March 12). MPSJ must rid area of squirrels. The Star Online. https://www.thestar.com.my/news/community/2006/03/13/mpsj-must-rid-area-of-squirrels​

Tree Squirrels - Facts & Behavior Information. (n.d.). Pest World. https://www.pestworld.org/pest-guide/nuisance-wildlife/tree-squirrels/