Architecture Studio Pearce+ Builds Wildlife Tower from Farm's Own Scrap at Honeygar Farm, Somerset

A six-metre-tall tower built almost entirely from reclaimed farm materials is now standing at Honeygar Farm in Somerset, designed to house bats, owls, kestrels, invertebrates and wetland species — all at once.

Architecture studio Pearce+, which describes itself as a studio weaving together architecture, land art and wildlife infrastructure, designed and built the structure for Somerset Wildlife Trust. The trust is transforming the former dairy farm on the Somerset Levels into a restored wetland habitat, with a new research and education centre also planned.

The tower, officially named Wildlife Tower 01, was built from materials found and reclaimed on the site itself. Masonry piers form the base — a practical choice, since the land regularly floods. Above those piers, the structure rises in reclaimed timber and corrugated metal. Planning permission for the six-metre height was approved in October 2025, according to the Somerset Leveller (Somerset Leveller).

Every dimension has a biological reason. The overall height is partly dictated by the species the tower is designed for, because different animals nest or roost at particular heights. Bats, owls and kestrels each favour different elevations; invertebrates and wetland species occupy their own niches. Founding director Owen Pearce told Dezeen that the core idea was "to create long-term wildlife infrastructure for as many different species as possible" (Dezeen).

What makes the build demanding is not the design but the sourcing. Pearce said the main construction challenge was the work and uncertainty involved in finding, digging out, moving, cleaning and assessing reclaimed materials — a process with no catalogue and no guarantees. The roof and wall cladding were completed during the final week of building, according to a post on Pearce+'s Facebook page.

The wildlife tower forms part of a wider restoration plan for the Somerset Levels, a low-lying wetland region in south-west England. Somerset Wildlife Trust submitted a planning application in February 2026 for a research centre at Honeygar. Poynton Bradbury Architects, appointed as lead architect for the broader Honeygar Farm project, is working alongside Pearce+ on the site's transformation (Poynton Bradbury Architects).

The structure stands as a working piece of habitat, not a decorative folly. Its materials are old, its tenants are wild, and its foundations are built to sit in floodwater.