At The Bentway Studio facing Canoe Landing Park, a new set of public furniture invites interspecies-encounters with urban wildlife. Through UV-painted details, the piece offers glimpses of how birds and insects see beyond the human eye and offers a more-than-human lens through which to experience the urban ecosystem.
On The Bentway Studio’s terrace in a bustling new community, Multispecies Lounge aims to bring attention to urban wildlife in and around Canoe Landing Park and CityPlace that traverse and adapt in an often disorienting built environment in ways we may not be aware of. While acknowledging popular local species such as American Robins, Barn Swallows, and other charismatic songbirds, Multispecies Lounge equally highlights less-recognized urban fauna such as solitary bees and Dekay’s brown snake.
Take a seat, keep company with local birds and insects throughout the season, and start to see the neighbourhood from their point of view. Designed by architecture duo, Double Happiness, this leisure space for interspecies encounters acknowledges the diversity of local inhabitants. The piece allows visitors to glimpse the ways birds and insects see beyond the human eye through UV painted details and offers an opportunity for rest in the midst of migration seasons.
The Multispecies Lounge consists of specially-designed furniture composed of locally upcycled materials for birds, insects and humans alike. Sit back against red cedar chairs and watch swallows nest and sparrows perch above; while small terrestrial beings relax below, amplifying nonhuman perspectives of our urban ecologies through a more-than-human lens.
What to expect:
- An installation on the terrace of The Bentway Studio at Canoe Landing featuring public seating arrangements and interactive elements.
- The Bentway Studio’s terrace at Canoe Landing is a ground-level, physically accessible space.
- The public seating arrangement is wheelchair accessible.
- Through QR codes, the project facilitates information-sharing about local urban wildlife.
- Public programming will give visitors the opportunity to experience the installation visually through UV/black light, amplifying visual perception through a more-than-human lens.
lounge voices
Lounge Voices is a series of narrations from the perspectives of urban wildlife around the Bentway. To join the conversation in the Lounge, click on the species to hear their stories.
Interview with the Artists:
collaborators
project team
- Artist Assistants: Pamela Nelson, Stacey Feldman, Mel Coleman
- Alice Hwang
- Laurice Hwang
- Michelle A Franks
supporters
Commissioned by The Bentway
Co-Presenters & Other Partners:
- Fabricated by: Spielman Fabrication, WRGeorgi Fabrication
- Engineering by Blackwell
- Habitat fabrication by Jonathan Anderson Design + Technology Lab – The Creative School Toronto Metropolitan University
Special thanks to:
- TAS Impact
- Toronto and Region Conservation Authority
