The Mylly building is being developed to take birds better into account
The first measures concern the development of lighting control in the building. The possibilities of taping windows are being investigated. Students and staff are asked to always report bird deaths to facilities services in order to obtain more information about the places of danger.
Members of the Academy of Fine Arts community have been concerned about how birds have been taken into account in the window surfaces on the façade of the Mylly building. In December, a petition was submitted to the academy’s management to make the windows bird-safe. The petition pointed out that birds are the most endangered species group and that collision deaths are one of the most significant threats.
“The most common reasons why birds collide into buildings are reflections, transparency through the building and light, especially in the dark. Based on the investigation carried out so far, the exact cause of the bird deaths in Mylly is not clear, which is why it is difficult to assess the effectiveness of the measures,” says Kari Karlsson from Uniarts Helsinki’s Facilities Services, who has investigated the matter.
Mylly’s large windows combined with the lighting in the dark increase the risk of bird collisions, so the primary measure is to develop the property’s light control.
“A new lighting control system is being introduced in the property to promote the functional control of the lights and in this way reduce the risks for birds,” says Karlsson.
Reflections that are dangerous to birds can be prevented with UV glass, textured or uneven glass and taping, for example. In the Mylly building, UV glass or patterned glass cannot be retrofitted without having to replace the entire window structure. Adding taping to parts of the building is being investigated.
Due to the shape of the building, transparency is a low risk for birds. This risk can also be further minimized by using blackout curtains on windows where possible.
The challenge in planning measures is the lack of more detailed information on the risk the property poses to birds. More detailed information is needed for developing measures. Therefore, community members are asked to report their observations to the tila-help@uniarts.fi e-mail or to the staff at Mylly’s info.
More information:
Kari Karlsson
kari.karlsson@uniarts.fi
+358407104378