Where we look and what we look for: A series of nature walks led by Jamie Partridge in the Stoke Newington East Reservoir nature reserve, where the following Animal Clients may potentially be encountered: Grey Heron, Common Frog, Black Redstart, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, House Sparrow, Hedgehog, Bat

Meeting Place: London Wildlife Trust East Reservoir classroom 1, Newnton Close, London, N4 2RH

RSVP with Lorna Fox: lfox@wildlondon.org.uk

Where we look and what we look for: A series of nature walks led by Jamie Partridge in the Stoke Newington East Reservoir nature reserve, where the following Animal Clients may potentially be encountered: Grey Heron, Common Frog, Black Redstart, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, House Sparrow, Hedgehog, Bat

Meeting Place: London Wildlife Trust East Reservoir classroom 1, Newnton Close, London, N4 2RH

RSVP with Lorna Fox: lfox@wildlondon.org.uk

Check out the Cohabitable Architecture blog about the workshop

The goal of urban ecologies is to integrate animal species within the urban environment. With urban development animals have been displaced from their natural habitats and are forced to find alternative homes. Bat species have come to rely on existing built structures in which to roost, and will be the focus of this workshop which addresses the following questions:

* How can we design structures that support the bat population while maintaining human occupation?
*How can we learn from the properties and behaviours of bats to design structures for humans?
*What happens when the proportion of dedicated space for humans is inverted with the proportion for bats? Will different structures and spaces be formed?
*How can we share space with animal species?
*What playful and fun spaces and structures can arise from designing cohabitable architecture?

This workshop proposes the design of cohabitable space that is to be shared between bats and humans. Through the acts of drawing and model making we will attempt to explore means of cohabitation between species. In traditional bat mitigation projects a small percentage of space is given for bat habitation within agricultural buildings with the majority of space allocated for human habitation. In order to subvert this idea we will design structures where bats take up 90% of the space and humans the remaining 10%. Inverting the proportion of living space allows us to explore aspects of the bat world that will assist us in designing the human space. Aspects such as flight, blindness, suspension, inversion and clustering will be explored regarding the human side of the cohabitation.

This workshop will span three days plus one final day for a pin up of the work to be viewed by notable urban ecologists as well as bat specialists from the Bat Conservation Trust. Supporting the workshop will be a lecture presented by experts from the Bat Conservation Trust. The lecture will focus on mitigation for bat species in structures, and will inform our design process. Focusing on the creation of a multi scalar model that may also serve as a bat box, this workshop proposes the playful exploration of cohabitable space.

Open to those 18 years of age or older who have some interest and/or experience in design. The workshop is free, but booking is essential. To book, contact london@animalestates.org

Workshop leader: Maya Cochrane is an Architectural design graduate from the Bartlett UCL. Her research is in the ephemeral with an interest in cohabitable architecture.

Bat expert: Kelly Gunnell works for the Bat Conservation Trust as the Built Environment Officer with the remit to facilitate solutions for bat conservation in the construction sector and urban areas.

Bat ecolocation device demonstration: Rebecca Stewart, Industrial Designer, Arup

Green Roofs, the urban Sky Islands - Biodiversity stepping stones with Kate Priestman, Arup

AND

Landscaping for bats in urban areas with Kelly Gunnell, Bat Conservation Trust - Talk chaired by ecologist Gary Grant

Kelly Gunnell has studied and worked with biodiversity all over the world. She holds a degree in Zoology and Journalism from Rhodes University in South Africa and has studied the conservation genetics of Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the USA for her MSc. She has worked as an environmental consultant in Johannesburg and as an environmental researcher for the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria. In the UK, Kelly has volunteered for organisations such as WaterAid and RESET. Kelly joined the Bat Conservation Trust in April 2010 to promote bats and biodiversity in the built environment. This role requires liaising with the construction sector to facilitate solutions for bat conservation and covers many areas from buildings to roads, lighting, roost mitigation and green infrastructure.

Gary Grant is a Chartered Environmentalist, Member of the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management, an Academician at the Academy of Urbanism, Member of the All Party Parliamentary Committee on Biodiversity, thesis supervisor at the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment, University College London, Chair of the Judges of the Integrated Habitats Design Competition and Director of the Green Roof Consultancy Ltd. After graduating from Nottingham University in 1980 with a degree in Biology, he worked for the London Wildlife Trust (LWT), campaigning for and managing urban wildspace. He conceived the London Wildlife Garden Centre, which won a RIBA/Times Award. Later he led the Wildlife in Docklands Project, a joint venture between the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust and LWT, which promoted nature as part of the redevelopment of London’s Docklands. In the early 1990s he participated in the Royal Fine Art Commission’s River Thames Study and worked on the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Garden. From the early 1990s he has designed green roofs, including the CUE Building at the Horniman Museum. Based in Hong Kong during the much of the 1990s, he worked on housing, tourism and infrastructure projects. In 2003, Gary wrote English Nature’s Research Report on green roofs and followed that in 2006 with Green Roofs and Facades published by BRE Press. From 2006 to 2009 he was a Director of EDAW and then AECOM Design + Planning, where he worked on large scale planning projects including the London 2012 Olympic Park, the Bedford Valley River Park, the Whitehill-Bordon Eco Town, Education City, Qatar and Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi.

Kate Priestman is an environmental consultant with over ten years’ professional experience, undertaking project work within a variety of environmental disciplines (primarily ecology, plus contaminated land). As part of Kate's current Senior Ecologist position based in London, she provides advice, undertakes protected species surveys, and produces reports at all stages of a development programme, focusing on guiding projects to meet client needs and minimising ecological risk, whilst identifying opportunities for ecological gain and sustainable operation.

Meet the Clients Part III: Hedgehog Week
A presentation on hedgehog habitats by expert Hugh Warwick with special project by Jessica Easter

Our hedgehog population is in decline, dramatic decline. Conservatively we can now say that there has been a 25% decline in the last 10 years alone, and that this might only be part of a much more substantial collapse. Some estimates suggest this could be as extreme as a 95% decrease in the number of hedgehogs in the UK since 1950. The key reason is development — whether that be intensive farming saturating the land in agrochemicals and removing hedges, or the fragmentation of suburbia through the perpetual increase in road traffic and the move towards more contained and manicured gardens — hedgehogs are finding it increasingly difficult to navigate the anthropogenic landscape. Hugh Warwick will talk about how this problem can be addressed, and while there has been such gloomy news, there is cause for hope. We are beginning to take the threats to hedgehogs seriously and have instigated a host of campaigns and studies that should at least stem the flow.

Hugh Warwick is a writer and ecologist who has studied hedgehogs on and off for over 25 years. An honorary life-member of the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, he has dedicated much time to assisting in the conservation of hedgehogs. He also has a 'normal' life as a journalist/consultant and father doing a wide variety of projects from making an award-winning film for the Quakers about nonviolent protest to writing opinion pieces in the Guardian and the New Scientist.

Jessica Easter is an artist whose work addresses ecological issues. She has a BA Hons Visual Arts and Communication from Greenwich University and has been researching hedgehog habitats for Animal Estates.

Bees & London Wildflowers: A Wallpaper Workshop (download PDF)

This project proposes to create a collective wallpaper during a three hour workshop. The wallpaper will be inspired by William Morris’s work and composed of different species of flora found in London. Morris was one of the great wallpaper pattern designers. His wallpaper patterns were inspired by his intimate knowledge of natural forms and were usually titled with names of flowers. Morris took the natural forms that he found outside in the woods and meadows, and then used them to decorate the inside of our homes. This idea is developed further during the workshop using flora particular to London and creating a wallpaper for display in the exhibition Animal Estates but also for each participant to take with them to decorate their room, their classroom, etc.

WHAT DOES A BEE SEE?
The wallpaper will take into account the characteristics of bees’ vision, namely their attraction to black and white patterns. The eyes of bees are composed of many small lenses (ommatidia), which bring many points of light together to build a grainy photograph, similar to the weft of newspapers. The sensitivity of bees to ultraviolet rays deprives them of many colours. The ocelli (eyes on the top of their head) distinguish light and dark, which make their environment black and white during the flight. For example, a field of poppies will be seen as a deep black area. The only time a bee can see colours is when it approaches flowers at a very slow speed. Bearing in mind those characteristics, the participants will create a black and white wallpaper made of many different floral patterns, connected together at the end of the workshop.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE ?
Open to children between 8 and 12 years who have some interest in nature, animals and handicrafts. The workshop is FREE but booking is essential. If your child is interested in this project, please contact emilieferrat@gmail.com or martin.fernandez@arup.com

PROGRAMME:
10.00 — 10.15 - Arrive Animal Estates HQ, Department of Wildlife Client Services
10.15 — 10.30 - Presentation of William Morris’s work and creative approach with flowers by Émilie Ferrat
10.30 — 13.30 - "Bees and London Wildflowers" wallpaper workshop

WORKSHOP LEADER: Émilie Ferrat is a graphic designer graduate from l’École Nationale Supèrieure des Arts Appliquès et Mètiers d’Arts, Paris. She is a bee researcher for Animal Estates and an intern in the graphic design studio Åbäke.

*FOR CHILDREN BETWEEN 8 AND 12 YEARS

Where we look and what we look for: A series of nature walks led by Jamie Partridge in the Stoke Newington East Reservoir nature reserve, where the following Animal Clients may potentially be encountered: Grey Heron, Common Frog, Black Redstart, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, House Sparrow, Hedgehog, Bat

Meeting Place: London Wildlife Trust East Reservoir classroom 1, Newnton Close, London, N4 2RH

RSVP with Lorna Fox: lfox@wildlondon.org.uk

Where we look and what we look for: A series of nature walks led by Jamie Partridge in the Stoke Newington East Reservoir nature reserve, where the following Animal Clients may potentially be encountered: Grey Heron, Common Frog, Black Redstart, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, House Sparrow, Hedgehog, Bat

Meeting Place: London Wildlife Trust East Reservoir classroom 1, Newnton Close, London, N4 2RH

RSVP with Lorna Fox: lfox@wildlondon.org.uk

Beam Parklands - A case study of habitat creation in a densely urban area of East London with Mark Job and Oliver Barnett, Arup

Mark Job is a Chartered Landscape Architect with extensive experience of masterplanning and landscape design of major development projects. Mark has a particular interest in integrating engineering solutions with high quality landscape and environmental design, identifying solutions which have far reaching social, environmental and ecological benefits. He has developed specialist expertise relating to river restoration and habitat creation work with the Environment Agency, working on high profile projects in areas experiencing unprecedented levels of redevelopment such as the Thames Gateway and the River Lea corridor. Mark has developed a close working relationship with engineering, architectural and environmental specialists from across Arup, combining to deliver effective solutions for complex situations.

The future for biodiversity in urban environments - What can be achieved by thinking big? with Austin Brown, Arup

AND

Swifts and the built environment with Edward Mayer, Swift Conservation

Austin Brown has a BSc (Hons) in Zoology and over eleven years' of ecological and wildlife biology experience. This has provided Austin with strong theoretical and field skills in British and overseas ecology including terrestrial and marine biology, population biology and habitat and wildlife corridor creation. He has significant experience in the development sector undertaking ecological appraisals in the UK and overseas that inform Environmental Impact Assessments.

Edward Mayer’s working career has been mostly in buildings and facilities management; he was Gallery Manager for the Tate Gallery in London from the opening of the Clore Gallery to the creation of Tate Modern. Edward has loved Swifts since childhood. In the late 1990's he noticed that the Swifts nesting in his local area were in decline. He realised that re-roofing of local properties was blocking Swifts from returning to their long-established nest sites. Surveys show that unless we take action now, and on a significant scale, within 20 years the Swift will become a rare bird within the UK. The solution is to both create new nest places and properly protect existing ones. To create awareness of this, Edward set up "Swift Conservation" a web-based advice service, celebrating Swifts, and showing what can be done to save them. Swift Conservation provides essential advice to government, building professionals and the public.

Bees in the City: biodiversity and the built environment, a public discussion

Moderated by beekeeper Chris Deaves, this discussion brings together a range of perspectives from architect Ian Ritchie, architect Murray Kerr, designer Amy Pliszka and engineer Paul Johnson, in relation to issues and practices of human / bee cohabitation in London. Issues addressed will include the practicalities of keeping bees in the city, as well as the social, aesthetic, ecological and economic benefits of living with bees in urban areas. This event will act as the closing event for Animal Estates London HQ: Urban Wildlife Client Services. The event will also mark the launch of two new works produced in association with Animal Estates London HQ: a ‘City Bee-House’ by Murray Kerr, displayed within the Animal Estates space; and a ‘London Honey Map’ poster for Animal Estates by Åbäke. The event is FREE but booking is essential.

Mick Brundle and Simon Swietochowski of Arup Associates, model production by Daryl Miles of Arup Associates

stacked birch wood ply, recycled waste, organic deadfall

Insects prefer habitats that are essentially neglected. Different varieties of insect require different habitats and environmental conditions to survive, so the challenge in designing an Insect Hotel was to cater for as many of these conditions and contexts as possible. These habitats generally consist of the detritus of the natural and man made world of organic and inorganic materials most of which can be procured from waste management or garden sources. The most important consideration is that the hotel needed to be buffered against temperature extremes with humidity maintained for certain species. Most simple insect hotels may be constructed in a very straightforward way from an assemblage of materials stacked together aided by an armature structure, that contains the disparate materials. Stacked timber palettes containing a variety of deadfall and inorganic waste is an example of this approach.
As the objective of the City of London Corporation’s Brief suggested that the hotel was also ‘visually engaging and a well crafted object’ and ‘enhanced its setting and complementing the garden’ as well as having utility and corresponding to a defined volume, a more sophisticated version suitable for the vicissitudes of a London Park and the more critical eye of the human inhabitants seems to be what was required.

The Hotel Guest’s Requirements
Stag Beetles: Need rotting logs for their larvae to eat and grow in. The design must ensure that these do not dry out, but neither must they be allowed to get too wet. This habitat should be located at ground level.
Solitary bees: Above the stag beetle compartments and consisting of stacked logs of varying sizes and cut bamboo, with ends facing out. Compacted sand/dirt mixed with broken terracotta is also useful.
Butterflies and Moths: A series of vertical slots should be used as an entrance to a dry wooden space that is filled with vertical planes of bark.
Spiders, Lacewings and Ladybirds: A combination of materials can be used here, including discarded shredded shoes; a variety of materials to produce various grades of space, including rolled up corrugated cardboard within plastic tubes.

The Design
The design maximised the extent of the allowable volume set by the brief of 1500mm x 1500mm x 500mm deep. The facade of the hotel consisted of a series of compartments based on a Voronoi pattern, generating a series of voids of varying size at a depth of 500mm. The Voronoi pattern is found in the natural world as for example in the rib structure of a dragonfly’s wing and can be generated to conform to particular void size requirements and location. The Hotel was fabricated from 25 layers of 20mm thick stacked birch wood ply, 1500 x 1500mm overall with the voids CNC milled and bonded together to form a total thickness of 500mm overall. The voids provided the supporting armature and an ordering structure for a variety of recycled waste materials and organic deadfall loosely inserted. The sides of the hotel were accessible for butterflies and moths through a slotted panel and the top was a planted habitat. The hotel was the Judge’s winner in the competition to celebrate the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity sponsored by British Land and the City of London. The Judges included Paul Finch Chairman of CABE, Sarah Henshall, brownfield officer, Buglife, Adrian Penfold, Head of Planning and Environment British Land, Graham Stirk, Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, Peter Wynne Rees, Chief Planning Officer City of London.

Mick Brundle, Arup’s Environmental and Product Design teams for Sky Garden and
Grey 2 Green June 2010

production by Amy Pliszka, Mathew Dwyer, John Milnes, Amy Congdon, F. Ciment Pleating

organza, linen, walnut, ash

Bees Beside Us are structures of biodegradable materials, designed to work with the natural cycle of bees to provide them with expandable living spaces.
Waterproofing, insulation and ventilation are priorities in the design, which demonstrates an appreciation of what bees do for us and our intrinsic connection to them.
Beehives designed for bees, from their perspective

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” - Albert Einstein

City living potentially provides a rich and varied pollen resource giving bees all the nutrients they require for their good health.  Rural bees choosing to relocate to the city may benefit from a new kind of architecture that is designed purely from their perspective.

Bees Beside Us is a collection of expandable living spaces designed for urban bees using natural, biodegradable materials. Overall the design aims to work with the natural cycle of the bees allowing for all of their idiosyncrasies.

Textiles have allowed an exploration of an architectural alternative for bees to fulfil multi-functional aspects of their lifestyle needs. My research in honeybee biology, apiculture and practical beekeeping enabled me to compile a ‘bee brief’ from which all the textile processes and material choices evolved.

Ultimately I hope to forge a new kind of relationship with bees and methods of beekeeping within the urban context. To create an innovative design that demonstrates an appreciation of what bees do for us, and our intrinsic connection to them.

[Catherine du Toit, Peter Thomas, Atsushi Iwata] with Peter Holden

modified standard hollow Lignacite (block), modified ash from Riverford Organics (bough); dense berrying holly, ilex aquifolium, (bush); maquette prototype for a woodcrete cast, photocopy paper and masking tape

Informed by ornithological derives with Peter Holden, 51% Studios’ Nestworks are ‘assisted readymades’ in the form of blocks, boughs and bushes, attractive to urban birds. Inspired by Witherford Watson Mann’s Strategic framework for the Bankside Urban Forest, which likens streets and pocket parks to the streams and clearings found in a forest, Nestworks have been designed primarily for house sparrows as well as for the birds of the forest we share our cities with: blue tits, great tits, starlings, blackbirds, robins and wrens. The first prototypes were shown in the Union Street Urban Orchard during the 2010 London Festival of Architecture since when scores have been permanently located across the wider Bankside area. The project is sits specific, responsive and provocative.

Thanks: The Architecture Foundation, London Festival of Architecture, Better Bankside, BOST, Andy Holden, Ben Weeks, Open Vizor, Southwark Council and Southwark Cathedral.

51% Studios / Urban Birds

composite felt material, substrate blend, wildflower seed mix

Pocket Habitat is a unique modular vegetation system designed to promote biodiversity in urban areas. The product forms a sculptured, engineered habitat that is specifically designed to support vegetation and wildflower growth. This in turn provides a self sustaining environment for pollinating and burrowing insects as well as other invertebrates, which are a valuable source of food for birds. Pocket Habitat fits together to form a tessellated mosaic of vegetation which can be moved as needs dictate and is therefore ideal for retrofitting to existing roofs as well as providing flexibility in new buildings. Pocket Habitat was designed and developed by Arup’s environment and product design teams for Sky Garden and Grey 2 Green and has been installed on several urban projects across the UK.

www.pockethabitat.co.uk

8.01: Bees (multiple species) - wood with 3/8" holes
8.02: Stag Beetle (Lucanus cervus) - rotting logs
8.03: Common Frog (Rana temporaria) pond
8.04: Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) - rock pile and leaf litter
8.05: Bats (multiple species) - bat house
8.06: House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) - nestbox
8.07: Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) - nestbox
8.08: Common Swift (Apus apus) - nestbox
8.09: Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - platform for nesting
8.10: Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) - nestbox
8.11: Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) - nestbox