As the 2011 Integrated Habitats Design Competition is getting launched, I’m looking at the winning entries from the 2010 competition in a series of posts.

Satoyama was another shortlisted entry, by the team of Hiroyuki Ichihara and Atsumi Sako. Their project proposal stated: “Around 36% of bee colony over the Europe had been lost due to Colony Collapse disorder(CCD) on 2007. Since 1/3 of agricultural crops depend on cross-fertilize, the problem is serious. Bees collect honey and pollen from plants. Through this instinctive action, bees pollinate flowers and maintain local eco-system. Similarly, human can be involved to this eco-system through their diet. Traditional honey hunting can connect nature and human. Although architecture cannot create nature itself, it can create an equipment to connect nature system and human through their instinctive action.”

This design focuses strongly on the honey…

I continue to be  surprised as I walk around the city by the tiniest of patches and pockets of habitat. As I mentioned in the first Unexpected Habitat post, these areas are perhaps not perfect, they’re not all native plants, they don’t offer all of the necessary elements, and yet they are being used by wildlife. Recently I walked through an alley with an unexpected row of plants alongside a building. There was the most minimal space for soil and some harsh afternoon sun, but nonetheless, many plants were growing and the bees were visiting them. Despite being an alley I found it a very nice space. The plants along the brick wall and the interesting architecture of the windows and hobbit-size, wooden door were rather enchanting.

In the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle a new community garden is currently under construction called Seven Hills Park. It consists…