Animal Rights Group PETA Awards Aqua Tower for Bird-Friendly Design

Studio Gang Architects has earned a PETA Proggy award for using bird-deflecting elements in the 823 ft-Aqua Tower residential building and hotel that’s currently under construction in Chicago.

By including an undulating exterior and specifying the use of fritted glass—which is etched with gray marks to make it easier for birds to see—the company has created a design that will help prevent birds from flying into windows. PETA’s Proggy Awards (“Proggy” is for “progress”) recognize animal-friendly achievements in commerce and culture.

PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk sent a letter of congratulations to Jeanne Gang, founder and principal of Chicago-based Studio Gang Architects. The firm will also receive a framed certificate.

“The American architect Louis Sullivan coined the phrase ‘form follows function,’” says Newkirk. “In the Aqua Tower, form follows compassion.”

Collisions with windows are among the most common human-related killers of migrating birds in North America—each year, they cause the deaths of more than 34 million birds in urban areas alone.

Images: Studio Gang Architects