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Leading Architects Unveil Luxury Bug Hotels in London
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Bridgette Meinhold
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Architecture,Design,Gardening,Innovations,Landscape Architecture |
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The five competing firms and designs include: the Insect Hotel by Arup Associates; Brookfield Bug Buddies by Brookfield Europe and the Pinnacle team; Bumblebee City Nesters by Fisher Tomlin; Inn Vertebrate by Metalanguage Design; and Beevarian Anstel and Gretel Chalet by German Women in Property. Each team used recycled and reclaimed materials found around the city and built their respective bug hotel in one of five parks around London. Over the last month, visitors to the parks were encouraged to vote online for their favorite, while a jury of industry experts from London selected their favorite design.
Adrian Penfold, Head of Planning & Environment at British Land said: “Congratulations are due to the organisation ‘German Women in Property’ and Arup Associates, who both demonstrated imagination and resourcefulness in meeting this unusual design brief.” Lucky bugs in the City of London can now enjoy the luxury of five-star surroundings created by leading figures from the architecture, landscaping, property and design worlds.
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Last month we showcased some fun designs for luxury bee and bug hotels that were set to take root in parks around London in hopes of buoying insect populations with sustainable habitats. Five shortlisted designs were chosen for the Beyond the Hive and
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The Insect Hotel
The architectural firm Arup Associates, took home first prize as decided by an expert judging panel of industry experts from around London. The Insect Hotel consists of a series of compartments based on a Voronoi pattern, which can be
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The ‘compartments’ created by the pattern provide the supporting armature for a variety of recycled waste materials and deadfall that are loosely inserted into the voids. In addition to catering for the needs of stag beetles, solitary bees, and the
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The Insect Hotel is a classic take on the structure of an urban hotel with multiple levels and a interesting facade based on a Voronoi pattern. The hotel is constructed from 25 layers of birch plywood with voids cut out using CNC, which will be loosely stuffed with recycled waste materials and deadfall for various bugs to make their way into. The sides of the hotel are accessible for butterflies and moths, and the top is suitable for absorbing rain water through planting. The Insect Hotel is found…
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Beevarian Antsel and Gretal Chalet
The Beevarian Antsel and Gretal Chalet by the organization ‘German Women in Property’ won the ‘Public’s Favorite’ award after a round of online voting. The design is based on a traditional Bavarian mountain chalet
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The chalet was made from reclaimed bricks to attract solitary bees, rotten logs for invertebrates, louvered boxes filled with bark for hibernating butterflies, a log drilled with holes for ladybirds, and eaves filled with bamboo for lacewings. Set over
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This traditional German chalet was designed by “German Women in Property” to commemorate their recent excursion to London and is built for visiting insects from mainland Europe. The Beevarian Chalet is located at Cleary Garden.
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Bumblebee City Nesters
The Bumblebee City Nesters modular prefab by Fisher Tomlin (Professional Garden Designers & Landscapers), is meant to encourage all sorts of bugs and bees and can be easily replicated in any park.
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These eco skyscrapers for a bug’s world were inspired by the towers of London and utilize modular construction to create various sized buildings – anything from a simple B&B to a Burj Khalifa Bug Tower. A grouping of five towers ranging in heights is located at West Smithfield and constructed from recycled materials including recycled timber, recycled broom poles, and garden and building waste. Two local schools helped construct the towers, which were designed with solitary bees in mind, but…
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Brookfield Bug Buddies
Brookfield Bug Buddies was designed by Brookfield Europe in collaboration with various consultants working on the new London tower development, The Pinnacle.
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The consultants and designers pose with their completed bug hotel, which was created using parts and pieces sourced from their project along with a recycled wood planter base.
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Brookfield Europe joined up with various consultants to design this bug tower, which was built from pipe work of different widths and lengths sourced from the Pinnacle project. Hilson Moran Partnership assessed the environmental impacts, while Arup out
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Inn Vertebrate
Inn Vertebrate is a multi-story inn designed by ORTLOS Space Engineering and Metalanguage Design to reflect the many different types of architecture in London.
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The Inn Vertebrate was inspired by the diverse architecture of London, and is a multi-story habitat with different size holes and spaces for various invertebrates. Constructed from recycled and reclaimed wood, bricks and off-cuts found in surrounding areas, this bug inn is located at Bunhill Fields surrounded by wildflowers that were donated by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.
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