Commenter says the public "isn't aware of billions of bird deaths caused by glass buildings"

In this week's comments update, readers are debating how best to prevent billions of bird deaths caused by glass buildings and discussing other top stories.

Experts have told Dezeen that legislation is needed to force architects to design bird-friendly buildings and prevent billions of deaths.

"We need broad-scale legislation requiring buildings to be bird-friendly," said Kaitlyn Parkins, an ecologist who is campaigning to reduce bird deaths in New York City.

As many as one billion birds are killed this way every year in the US alone while the British Trust for Ornithology estimates that windows cause 100 million bird collisions in the UK each year.

"Hopefully it brings awareness to the issue and forces positive change"

Readers are concerned. "Another sad reality of humans' lack of stewardship for our planet," said Ken Steffes.

"This information isn't widely known by the public, great to see it published here," added Yourastar. "Hopefully it brings awareness to the issue and forces positive change."

James Hartford continued: "I've been trying to specify bird-safe glass for years but clients insist on large expanses of glass and don't want to see textures that birds can see."

"Manufacturers have too few options and what's available is too expensive," she continued. "It takes legislation, public awareness, and cost-effective and good solutions from the glass industry to fix this."

"The solution, other than the extraction of humans from Earth, is far shorter buildings with windows angled at 45 degrees. Our obsession with architectural phallic symbols is egotistical but not environmentally sustainable," concluded Life Machine.

What do you think? Join the discussion ›

Reader wonders "what percentage of women are bricklayers, plumbers or electricians"

Commenters are debating the results of research conducted by Dezeen to mark International Women's Day. It showed that the percentage of women in top jobs at the biggest architecture firms has doubled over the past five years, but men still occupy four out of five key roles.

"Ancient history," said Colin MacGillivray. "When I went through Auckland University School of Architecture 1966-70 there were no women in my year and one woman in the year ahead and one the year following mine. That's two in about 120 students. Times change – good."

"According to AIA, 17 per cent of registered architects are women," replied HiKoo. "If there are 20 per cent of women in managerial roles, then that seems in balance. If there were 80 per cent of registered women architects, it seems logical, there would probably be far more women in top positions."

"I wonder what percentage of women are bricklayers, plumbers, or electricians?" added JayCee. "There is always a claim of disparity in positions of power but never the same for jobs where it actually involves getting your hands dirty."

Do the results surprise you? Join the discussion ›

Commenter says "Dezeen's last article on female genitalia really hit the spot" 

Last week readers were commenting on our story about a vulva-shaped spaceship concept. This week they are commenting on our roundup of five buildings that have been compared to female genitalia.

"Dezeen's last article on female genitalia really hit the spot," said Bobby Dazzler.

Romeo Reyes continued: "I'm designing a tiny house now and I don't know whether this article disturbed or inspired me."

"Psychiatrists and sex maniacs see vulva shape or phallic shaped everywhere. Normal people would only see organic-shape or flower-shape buildings," concluded Frederic Bortuzzo.

What shape do you see? Join the discussion ›

Reader says they are a "big fan of container architecture"

Commenters are discussing a house on the outskirts of Stockholm that was built by Swedish architect Måns Tham using eight standard shipping containers.

"Wonderful view out of the lower level bath," said Jim Angrabright. "Nice project."

Chris Brown agreed: "I'm a big fan of container architecture. It's so versatile. This five-bed house cost significantly cheaper than a building done from scratch. Each unit cost approx £2,000 – that's the main structure at £16,000. Container architecture is so versatile and common for its low cost. It's a great example of repurposing of an existing structure."

"Once you remove three to four walls or the floors or ceilings from the containers you could as well just have built a steel house with customised proportions and avoided the shortcoming of containers regarding room height," said Zea Newland on the other hand.

Are shipping containers the way forward? Join the discussion ›

Comments update

Dezeen is the world's most commented architecture and design magazine, receiving thousands of comments each month from readers. Keep up to date on the latest discussions on our comments page.