flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Nation's first 'food forest' planned in Seattle

Nation's first 'food forest' planned in Seattle

Community group transforms lot into edible public park


By BD+C Staff | April 12, 2013

Consider this the next take on urban farming: the food forest.

Seattle's Beacon Food Forest project is transforming a seven-acre lot in the city’s Beacon Hill neighborhood into a self-sustaining, edible public park.

The community group, with the help of donations and $120,000 in city funding, broke ground on the food forest last September. According to an article by Take Part, the park will be planted with hundreds of varieties of trees and plants, from walnut and chestnut trees to blueberry and raspberry bushes to apple and pear trees. Even herbs and exotic plants like guava and honeyberries will be available.

So who gets to pluck the harvest? Anyone who happens to wander into the park. And at no cost. 

Here are some pictures of the park's "ground making" ceremony, courtesy of the Beacon Food Forest project:

Related Stories

Architects | May 31, 2016

JLG Architects acquires Minneapolis-based Studio Five Architects

Led by Linda McCracken-Hunt, SFA is one of Minnesota’s oldest woman-owned architecture firms.

Building Team Awards | May 31, 2016

Gonzaga's new student center is a bustling social hub

Retail mall features, comfortable furniture, and floor-to-ceiling glass add vibrancy to the new John J. Hemmingson Center.

Building Team Awards | May 27, 2016

Big police academy trains thousands of New York's finest

The Police Training Academy in Queens, N.Y., consists of a 480,000-sf academic/administration building and a 240,000-sf physical training facility, linked by an aerial pedestrian bridge.

Building Team Awards | May 26, 2016

Cimpress office complex built during historically brutal Massachusetts winter

Lean construction techniques were used to build 275 Wyman Street during a winter that brought more than 100 inches of snow to suburban Boston.

Building Team Awards | May 25, 2016

New health center campus provides affordable care for thousands of Northern Californians

The 38,000-sf, two-level John & Susan Sobrato Campus in Palo Alto is expected to serve 25,000 patients a year by the end of the decade.

Architects | May 24, 2016

Lissoni Architettura’s NYC Aquatrium takes first place in New York City Waterfront Design competition

NYC Aquatrium was selected from among 178 proposals from 40 countries as the winner of Arch Out Loud’s NYC Aquarium & Public Waterfront design competition

Building Team Awards | May 24, 2016

Los Angeles bus depot squeezes the most from a tight site

The Building Team for the MTA Division 13 Bus Operations and Maintenance Facility fit 12 acres’ worth of programming in a multi-level structure on a 4.8-acre site.

Building Team Awards | May 23, 2016

'Greenest ballpark' proves a winner for St. Paul Saints

Solar arrays, a public art courtyard, and a picnic-friendly “park within a park" make the 7,210-seat CHS Field the first ballpark to meet Minnesota sustainable building standards.

Architects | May 20, 2016

NCARB survey indicates continued growth of U.S. architects

The number of U.S. architects surpassed 110,000 in 2015, a 2% increase from the previous year.

Multifamily Housing | May 19, 2016

Architect Jean Nouvel designs flood-resilient Monad Terrace in Miami Beach

A man-made lagoon with lush vegetation at the base of the complex is expected to adapt to climate change and rising sea levels.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Sustainable Design and Construction

Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.


3D Printing

3D-printed construction milestones take shape in Tennessee and Texas

Two notable 3D-printed projects mark milestones in the new construction technique of “printing” structures with specialized concrete. In Athens, Tennessee, Walmart hired Alquist 3D to build a 20-foot-high store expansion, one of the largest freestanding 3D-printed commercial concrete structures in the U.S. In Marfa, Texas, the world’s first 3D-printed hotel is under construction at an existing hotel and campground site.


University Buildings

Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences opens a new 88-acre campus

Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences has opened a new campus spanning 88 acres, over three times larger than its previous location. Designed by RDG Planning & Design and built by Turner Construction, the $260 million campus features technology-rich, flexible educational spaces that promote innovative teaching methods, expand research activity, and enhance clinical services. The campus includes four buildings connected with elevated pathways and totaling 382,000 sf. 

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021