The Insect Hotel - St Dunstan's in the East, London, UK
N 51° 30.583 W 000° 04.947
30U E 702452 N 5710545
This insect hotel, named "The Insect Hotel", is located in St Dunstan in the East church gardens. It is close to the northern perimeter in a shaded area beneath a tree. This was the judges' winner of a competition held in 2010.
Waymark Code: WMJ5GE
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/27/2013
Views: 23
Inhabitat website tells us:
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 at St. Dunstan's in the East
The website also contains drawings and photos of the hotel.
The Arup
Associates website tells us about their design for the hotel:
Arup Associates design for a hotel for insects was the
competition winning entry in ‘Beyond the Hive’, Sponsored by British Land
and the City of London to celebrate 2010 as the International year of
Biodiversity.
Selected from five shortlisted hotels that were built and placed in parks
around London, the jury included Paul Finch; Sarah Henshall; Adrian Penfold,
Head of Planning & Environment, British Land; Peter Wynne Rees, the City
Planning Officer; and architect Graham Stirk.
Insects prefer habitats that are essentially neglected. Different varieties
of insect require different habitats and environmental conditions to
survive, so the challenge of designing an Insect Hotel is 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 comprising of
organic and inorganic materials most of which can be procured from waste
management or garden sources.
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 suggests that the
hotel is also ‘visually engaging and a well crafted object’ and ‘enhances
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.
The website also contains photos of the hotel.