Nesting instinct
In the vast, ancient desert of Namibia, nature is the greatest architect. Millions of years have refined the shapes of the shelters that birds and animals create for themselves here. The gigantic domed nests built by sociable weaver birds in camel thorn trees are one of the most striking examples.
“They’re architectural masterpieces,” says Swen Bachran, the entrepreneur and conservationist who established the Namib Tsaris Nature Reserve with his neighbours in the desert.
He and his designer and artist friend Porky Hefer visited a spot nearby what was to be the site of The Nest, as they dubbed the fantastical house modelled on these weavers’ nests that they created over the next eight years. At that stage, Swen was still
