Bere Admin November 22nd, 2009
bere:architects are very pleased that our office and Justin’s home known as ‘The Muse’ has been honoured with the 2009 award for Best Environmental Project. This was a particularly enjoyable occasion because this prize gave Justin the opportunity to meet Penny Poyzer, leader of the judges, who was one of the original project members of the Hockerton Housing Project with Robert and Brenda Vale. A weekend in Cambridgeshire and a visit to Hockerton are planned for the Spring….
Bere Admin October 13th, 2009
Judges’ Special Award: Bere: architects
“Having scrutinised the entries in all categories the judges decided they wanted to make a special award to Bere Architects for their achievement across a range of competition categories. They have shown initiative and innovation in providing a local site that is also a national exemplar. They have turned their office into a test centre for sustainability as well as showing how an urban building can contribute to local biodiversity, and simultaneously have reached out to their local community, running a series of seminars for local groups to spread good practice in green building.”
Bere Admin July 18th, 2009
Sustain magazine published the following 4 page article in July 2009. This piece summarises my experiences so far and explains how the common house sparrow in particular, and the wren have benefitted at the beginning of the breeding season to what is on offer.
sustain article july2009.pdf
Bere Admin July 1st, 2009
Pictures taken by Getty Images of the arrival of my bees on July 1st 2009 caught the imagination of press around the world from the London Times to the Washington Post. Every little bit of help the bees can get is a good thing?
eveningstandard-beehive.pdf
telegraph-beehive.pdf
Bere Admin May 17th, 2009
How Justin Bere’s rooftop native wildflower meadow provides important support for the local house sparrow population as well as evidence of the role of native planting in the support of a healthy ecosystem.
May 16th 2009: The local house sparrows have suddenly found my rooftop wildflower meadow very interesting. After the adults have fed themselves on sunflower seeds that they collect from nearby bird feeders, they have taken to flying over to the native wild flower meadow roof where they collect beak-fulls of insects and fly off, presumably carrying them to their fledgling chicks. I have noticed that the sparrows are most interested in the Common Vetch native wild flower which is abundant on the roof thanks to ecologist and green roof expert, Dusty Gedge’s planting advice. Close inspection shows that the Common Vetch is host to an abundant supply of huge juicy aphids; one of the favourite foods for baby sparrows, and essential for the survival of the first of the season’s brood of chicks. Further research (below) indicates that Common Vetch is known to be unusually attractive for aphids and that by supporting healthy aphid populations, the Common Vetch in turn supports the declining house sparrow population. I believe that this may indicate a strong link between native Common Vetch and a healthy sparrow population. It also suggests more broadly that green roofs planted with native wildflowers may provide a particularly high level of support for native ecosystems that may not be immediately obvious to many green roof specifiers. Continue Reading »
Bere Admin April 29th, 2009
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/05/green-roofs/klinkenborg-text/1
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/05/green-roofs/cook-photography
We lifted 20 tonnes of soil on to the green roofs of the Muse with our own hands and the result, photographed last June, only four months after planting, has contributed to National Geographic’s feature promoting the use of green roofs on buildings for environmental and ecological reasons.
Again I give thanks to Dusty Gedge for advising me on soil design and procurement, as well as native wildflower meadow planting and arranging monitoring to measure the growth in biodiversity.
Bere Admin April 27th, 2009
The native Solomon’s Seal grows in shady conditions beneath trees and its flowers are loved by bumblebees that don’t mind hanging upside down to get at the nectar. Hazel trees overhead form a coppice which shades the native underplanting of wild flowers, working well for a broad range of wildlife from insects to birds. The Dog’s Mercury groundcover, a signifier of ancient woodland, has spread underground after an unpromising start last year and this spring has popped up all over the ground beneath the hazel coppice. I am appreciating Kim Wilkie’s brilliant landscape planting design more and more for its delightful concentration on shades of green and foliage texture on the larger scale and delicate detail and support for biodiversity at the smaller scale.
Solomon’s Seal with flower buds Continue Reading »
Bere Admin February 10th, 2009
Bere Admin February 4th, 2009
Bere Admin November 9th, 2008
Bere Admin November 9th, 2008
Dusty Gedge and leading green roof experts from around the world descend on the Muse.
Continue Reading »
Bere Admin October 30th, 2008
6 October, 2008
By Michael Willoughby
Michael Willoughby went to visit Bere Architecture’s Muse, a proto-PassivHaus in Newington Green, east London, with his camera.
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Bere Admin October 30th, 2008
Bere Admin September 6th, 2008
OPEN HOUSE GREEN SKY STUDIOS EVENT AT THE MUSE, ISLINGTON, LONDON, 26TH SEPTEMBER 2008
FOR MORE INFORMATION AND BOOKING A PLACE REFER TO THE OPEN HOUSE WEBSITE www.openhouse.org.uk/sustainability/index.html
bere:architects are hosting an event at Justin Bere’s own ecological house which also contains an office of ten full time architectural staff. The morning will consist of three modules as follows:
(1) A general tour of the premises which demonstrate a broad ecological approach. This will last about an hour including time for questions and answers. People willbe free to leave after this module.
(2) For those that are interested in remaining for a more technical presentation, there will be a seminar on Passivhaus design techniques, the emerging European low energy design standard, including an insight into using the Passivhaus Planning Package (PHPP)and static thermal imaging software.
(3) An organic lunch with the office
Bere Admin July 27th, 2008
At last I feel as if my plans for a little nature reserve in the middle of London are coming to fruition!
Bere Admin June 19th, 2008
Tom Liffen is conducting a research project which investigates the effect of green roofs upon water quality. The project also discusses the various benefits of green roofs (including habitat creation) and the policy tools that can assist their establishment. The work is a collaboration between the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and King’s College London. The final report will be used as a resource by Defra, where Tom has been placed for three months, and submitted as the dissertation for his M.Sc in Aquatic Resource Management. Continue Reading »
Bere Admin June 18th, 2008
Green Roof Update - 15 weeks after planting
The daisies and cornflowers have now been joined by poppies. Both the cornflowers and poppies have been very popular with the bumblebees. The insect population is beginning to develop and this is the first native greenshield bug thats been seen in the garden. Bird visitor numbers have steadily increased and they seem to enjoy the hazel coppice near the feeders. The regular list of visitors now includes: bullfinches, goldfinches, greenfinches, sparrows, robins, blackbirds and great tits.
Continue Reading »
