A Case for Urban Edible Landscapes
August 29, 2018 | By Admin |
Backyard gardeners, urban farmers, and community plot garden hobbyist have made a huge wave in the Seattle region, bringing ‘grow-it-yourself’ culture into the mainstream. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same access to places for growing food, the time to spend in the garden, or even the ability to put in the work; so how can we integrate food producing plants into the urban environment that also allows access to fresh, healthy food? One of Nakano Associates most recent housing projects designed a landscape using food producing plants.
Sunset Court is Renton Housing Authority’s newest affordable housing community on 2 acres, here Nakano Associates and the project design team took the opportunity to integrate fruits, vegetables, nuts, and herbs into the beautifully planned landscape. With thoughtful species consideration, maintenance requirements of the edible landscape are similar to traditional landscapes, but also offer many delicious benefits. The landscape design at Sunset Court recognizes the effort and time it takes to maintain and harvest the plants and trees and also considers who will be utilizing the open space between planting and shrub areas. Being surrounded by multifamily buildings, the layout of the landscape prioritizes user enjoyment, both passively and actively, with places to play, sit quietly, or gather and socialize. At Sunset Court, the landscape design functionally integrates productive plant materials with other hardy ornamental choices which limits harvesting and maintenance requirements while ensuring the space has year-round aesthetic interest. Read More
Join us in remembering Kenichi’s life and work at an exhibit hosted by the UW Landscape Architecture department at Gould Hall on the UW Campus. This retrospective exhibit celebrates the life and career of Kenichi Nakano and shows a portfolio of projects from his more than 40-year career. As a founder of Nakano Associates, a professor at the UW landscape Architecture Department, and a mentor to many, Kenichi helped shape the contemporary profession of landscape architecture in the Pacific Northwest.
