Reflections on Collisions:
the science and architectural solutions to bird-window strikes at UMass
How do we make an invisible problem for birds visible to those that can fix it?
Birds collide with windows for the simple reason that they do not see windows as solid objects, especially when windows reflect the sky or surrounding landscape. UMass Amherst, a hub for both architectural design and sustainability, is positioned along a migratory flyway and provides a perfect setting to examine and address this pressing issue.
UMass Amherst campus hosts a range of buildings that represent historic changes in the use and size of windows and glass. In the LEED-certified Olver Design Building, the expansive glass wall of the studio wing promise a literal and figurative transparency into the workings of the school. Such glass walls provide an intimate connection with the natural world, positioning us in close visual proximity to the native plantings surrounding the building. However, while full of architectural promise and appeal, these glass walls have proven deadly to birds. The risks lie in the transparency and reflectivity of glass, coupled with lights on at night and resource-rich habitat that attracts birds closer to buildings. Fortunately, many solutions exist to reduce the hazards glass presents to birds while also improving the human experience of the building.
Along with Meg Vickery of the History of Art & Architecture Department and artist Hannah Rust, I curated
Reflections on Collisions about the science of bird-window collisions, and the architectural solutions that offer some hope for interspecies benefit in the face of global bird declines. The show featured study skins of birds killed in campus window collisions from 2026 - 1959, a 1850s mill-building window demonstrating glass panes manufactured before modern float-glass technique, and 3D models of dead birds, created with photogrammetry and printed on campus. Inspired by Chicago artist Andrew Yang, a team of undergraduates dissected the stomachs of killed birds and planted the seeds within, to reveal the flora birds rely upon and disperse. Effective architectural and landscaping solutions were also exhibited, from fritted glass samples to modern bird-safe buildings.
Bird Safe UMass is an interdisciplinary group of ecologists, architects, historians, and students. Since 2023, we have collected data on the UMass buildings most dangerous to birds and engaged hundreds of students in documenting this pervasive issue.
Study skins of birds that collided with windows on UMass Amhest campus. The birds in this image were killed between 2024-25 and prepared by members of the Bird Safe UMass team, with support from the campus Natural History Collections. Photo by Feipeng Huang.The gallery space within the Olver Design Building, home to the Department of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Building Construction Technology hosted the exhibit from March - May 2026.Fritted glass samples demonstrate the 2x2 rule: to break up a reflection and make the glass visible to birds, etched designs must not have greater than 2in of space between the lines, dots, or patterns.
Photo by Feipeng Huang.UMass Amherst is along the route of migrants from Alaska to South America, and hosts local breeding birds like the Peregrine Falcons on the WEB Dubois Library.
Photo by Feipeng Huang.American Woodcock, scanned with photogrammetry and 3D printed. These are common early spring migrants, displaying in February and March along the forest edges.
Listen to the story from the Museum in a Box here.Cedar Waxwing forage on fruit-bearing trees, traveling between buildings in large flocks.
Listen to the Cedar Waxwing audio here.This flock of Canada Warblers collided with the Engineering Building on UMass Amerst campus in 1967, shortly after float-glass became an industry standard in modern architecture. Canada Warblers are a long-distance migrant with a rapidly declining population, breeding in northern boreal forests and spend the non-breeding season in Central America. Bird Safe UMass has not recorded a single Canada Warbler since monitoring began, and they are a relatively infrequent sighting in our area in recent decades. Photo by Feipeng Huang.
Can you see the ripples, bubbles, and streaks on the top row of panes? In this Shelburne Falls Mill building window from the 1850s, several types of glass are visible. These imperfections make them more visible to a bird.
In the 1960s, glass manufacturing evolved to float glass, the modern method for producing large, perfectly transparent and reflective flat panes by cooling the material on molten tin. We have no records of collisions on campus buildings that pre-date float glass.
Inspired by Chicago artist Andrew Yang’s 2012 project “flying gardens of maybe”, undergraduate students at UMass dissected the stomachs of dead birds and planted the seeds found within. Hung from the ceiling and placed on tables for visitors to handle were 3D printed birds, created with photogrammetry from carcasses collected on campus. See video below for the photogrammetry process.