Lauder College House

The large windows that surround the Lauder College House courtyard were originally a prime target for bird-window collisions, with dozens of birds being collected on some days during the spring and fall migrations. In a collaboration between Lauder House, Audubon Mid-Atlantic, FRES, and Residential Services, the largest bird-friendly retrofit on campus to date was implemented at the ground-level courtyard windows. The bird-friendly film was installed, improving window visibility to birds that should dramatically decrease the frequency of collisions. Going beyond the “2 x 4 rule”, these dots are spaced 2” apart horizontally and vertically. Ongoing monitoring of the site, including documentation of bird strike frequency, location, species, and time of day, will help to ensure the effectiveness of the retrofit, as well as inform future bird-friendly efforts. Additional bird-friendly strategies are being explored for courtyard windows above the ground level that have not been treated yet.

Hill Pavilion/Johnson Building

In 2015, Joe Durrance began to track bird strikes around Penn Medicine and Penn Vet buildings as part of his Penn Masters of Environmental Studies capstone. Using a Penn Green Fund Grant, Durrance and FRES led a pilot program in partnership with Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine and School of Veterinary Medicine to apply bird friendly film to windows on the Johnson Pavilion and the glass walls of pedestrian walkways at the Hill Pavilion, drastically decreasing the number of deadly bird strikes.

Singh Center for Nanotechnology

Despite having an entire front facade covered in windows, the Singh Center for Nanotechnology incorporates effective bird-friendly measures. The windows of the Singh Center are covered in an acid-etched glass vertical stripe pattern that interrupts the otherwise continuous glass surface. This interruption improves window visibility for birds, decreasing the frequency of bird strikes.

Levin Neural & Behavioral Sciences Building

The Stephen A. Levin Neural & Behavioral Sciences building utilizes a bird-friendly external scrim. The durable fabric is woven in a unique, amorphous pattern, and dramatically reduces the reflectivity of the glass. By reducing the reflectivity of the glass windows and creating a pattern that disrupts the continuous surface of glass, the building is made bird-friendly.

Left Bank Building

Bird-friendly film was applied to the first level of glass at the glass entrance tower to the Left Bank Building. White dots applied 2” x 2” apart are visible to birds and help to reduce bird-strikes. Further mitigation efforts are being explored at the glass windows above.

Ringe Squash Center

When the Ringe Squash Center was recently renovated, the architects at FRES prioritized improving the building's overall sustainability footprint as well. Large glass windows containing horizontal fritting were installed in an effort to minimize heat gain and bird collisions.

Gutmann College House

In preparation for the construction of Gutmann College House, a number of different glazing, etching, and silk-screening methods were evaluated by BCJ architectural practice in partnership with FRES for bird-friendliness, solar performance, and aesthetics. Ultimately, Arnold Glas Ornilux A70 glass was chosen, which utilizes a special UV coating only visible to birds and has an American Bird Conservancy threat factor of 20 and this was installed at the one-story glass passageway on the south side of the building. The American Bird Conservancy considers materials with threat factors of 30 or less as bird-friendly, with lower threat factors corresponding to a greater reduction in bird-window collisions.4 While continued monitoring of future bird strikes is still necessary to evaluate the performance of this glass, this bird-friendly installation sets a precedent for bird-friendly measures in future buildings and further demonstrates Penn’s commitment to balancing the needs of the natural and built environment.