A cluster of three hollow wooden owls peer out from the end of a dock in Bordeaux, France, connected from within to form a two-story cabin. The Watchers was designed and built by Zebra3, a local contemporary art production company. The design was inspired by the small owls that nest on the ground in the surrounding marsh, with shingles to match their feathery heads.

“The idea of ​​birds came to me very quickly,” said Candice Petrillo, Zebra3’s key designer on the project. “After the last extension of the commercial zone, I saw migrants swirling around in the sky, looking for the old dried wetland. The nod of animal eye and the curve of the object are a tribute to the sculptors François Pompon and François-Xavier Lalanne.”

The structure is a part of a series of unique buildings scattered throughout the region, cabins that invite guests to spend the night for free in order to encourage hiking and exploration. The project, Les Refuges Périurbains is a collaboration between Zebra3 and Bruit du Frigo. You can see more of the area’s cabins on Les Refuges Périurbains’ website, including this lakeside home shaped like a cloud. (via Inhabitant)

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