Bee buildings

Revision as of 12:05, 20 May 2022

Introduction

Bees are winged insects which are closely related to wasps and ants. There are seven families of bees with over 20,000 different species of bee. They are important part of the global ecosystem and exist on every continent apart from one, they to benefit humans and other species because they are pollinators of nearly three quarters of the plants, that produce 90% of the world's food. So one third of the world's food production depends on bees. The numbers of bees has been in decline, with the highest loss being recorded between between 2006 and 2015, when roughly 25 percent fewer species spotted.

• Andrenidae Family - all mining bees; active in early spring, a very light sting with velvety patches of hair on their faces.
• Apidae Family - honey bees, stingless bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, Diadasia bees, long-horned bees, orchid bees, and ground-nesting Anthophora bees.
• Colletidae Family - Two genera, the Colletidae often called plasterer bees because nest cavities lined with a waterproof secretion. The the genus Hylaeus are unique because the females carry pollen in a crop inside their bodies.
• Halictidae Family -brightly coloured metallic blue / green sweat bees are mining bees. The alkali bees are also part of this group.
• Megachilidae Family -all the bee genera that carry pollen on the underside of their abdomens. Familiar members are the mason bees, carder bees, and leafcutter bees.
• Mellittidae Family - mining bees from drier climates that often collect floral oils in addition to pollen and nectar.
• Stenotritidae Family -a small Australian mining bee family of exceptionally fast fliers.

Bees are known to live in hives and make honey however over 90% of bees do not actually live in hives or make any honey they are solitary bees and incredibly it is estimated that on average, only 2% of wild bee species are responsible for 80% of the pollination around the world. Solitary bees are crucial to the pollination success of several crops like cucurbits, blueberry, cranberry, tomatoes, eggplants, apples, plums, almonds, and all manner of lentils, among others. Social bees do build and live in hives with the social order and colony set up around the queen bee, with worker bees and drones

Bees in the built environment

Whilst the overall population of bees is in decline the numbers of bees recorded in urban areas is said to have increased, although the relative areas of land now considered urban has also increased globally. Urban bee keeping has also been steadily on the increase across cities and towns along with guidance to designers and developers on how to support pollinator populations.

Nature scot publish guidance stating that a pollinator-friendly development should provide:

• Food -A variety of 'pollinator-friendly' food sources from early spring until late autumn. Wildflowers, plants, flowering trees and shrubs are all needed - so the more the better!
• Shelter- Pollinators need safe nesting and hibernation areas. Bumblebees will nest in long grass and hedgerows. Many solitary bees nest in the ground. Others will take advantage of spaces in dry stone walls and wood.
• Habitats- Whether it's flower-rich grasslands, flowering trees and hedgerows or small patches of nectar-rich rooftop and window box planting, more good-quality habitats are needed.
• Less pesticides- Minimise pollinator exposure to pesticides.

Pollinator Strategy - 2021 Progress Report was published by Nature scot in January 2022. The National Pollinator Strategy 2014 to 2024: implementation for the UK was published in 2019 following The National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England along with its supporting document which was published in November 2013.

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust was established in 2006, it is a UK charity that actively monitors and conserves bumblebees and their habitat. The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (PoMS) gathers data on a wide range of flower-visiting insects. The Bee Coalition formed in 2012 when the UK’s main environmental groups joined forces to bring attention to the plight of bees and other pollinators and to inspire and engage policymakers, industry and the public to protect these invaluable, irreplaceable animals. Pollinating London Together (PLT), is a pan-livery organisation, inaugurated in June 2019 as a long-term initiative to halt the decline of pollinators in the City of London and its immediate environs.

These organisations as well as the wildlife trusts and many others publish useful guidance for the councils, the public, designers and developers on how best to to support pollinator populations in their area and across the country. Whilst The British Beekeepers Association, founded in 1874 continues to support and provide valuable guidance to beekeepers across the UK.

Bee built structures

Typical bee built hives follow the well know hexagonal order such as that of the Apis Melifera bee stocking honey true skyscraper type nests.

The Tetragonula carbonaria bee however, for example, create mazes to trick predators into being killed by a mixture of wax, mud and vegetable resin. These bees build spiral-shaped towers which are called brood combs, the structures link hundreds of individual egg chambers together into a continuous staircase of unborn baby bees.

Bee hive designs

Bee inspired buildings

Beehive houses

The earliest recorded conical or beehive shape buildings have been attributed to early Anatolian man, living in the Urgup Valley of Turkey's central Anatolian Plateau, quite sometime later by 3,700 B.C. examples of tholoi mud brick building have been found in neighboring Cyprus. Also in the hot climates of Aleppo, Syria ancient beehive houses of the 6th millennium BC can be found, whilst, to the Celtic hive dwellings of Scotland and Ireland date back to 200 BC. Vernacular structures resembling human hives have been built for many many years, whilst the buildings of bees have been inspired generation of architects and designers ever since.

Stone church beehives

Rosslyn Chapel (formerly Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew) located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland, wass founded in 1446 as a family chapel. Following the Reformation, the Chapel fell into disrepair, in 1650, Cromwell’s troops attacked the castle and stabled their horses inside the Chapel. After a period of Victorian repair and restoration, it was rededicated in 1862, in 1954 it was again in poor condition and in 1995 following a condition report Rosslyn Chapel Trust started a major conservation project. As part of this restoration they discovered a 600-year-old hive built that had been built into the stonework, the bees entered the hive through a hole in a carved flower crafted by the chapel's master stone masons.

Antione Gauda - Cooperativa Mataronesa

According to architectural historian Juan Antonio Ramirez, Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) used his catenary arches first in his designs for the Cooperativa Mataronesa factory, which he believes were directly inspired by the form of natural beehives. He supported this claim referencing the Gaudi designed graphics of a flag with a bee on and coat-of-arms representing the workers as bees (a symbol for industriousness and cooperation) that accompanied the project.

Mies van der Rohe - Honeycombe skyscraper

One early unbuilt design by Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) is the 1921 project which was the nicknamed the “honeycomb”. Ramirez views, the glass skyscraper as evidence that Mies was looking into nature, specifically to bees aswell as innovative new design methods.

The beehive of the Metropolitan Tower, Chicago

The Metropolitan Tower, Chicago, was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and completed in 1924. The building has a 12 metre zinc-coated stainlesssteel sheathed pyramid at the top which is peaked by a 6 metre glass beehive ornament containing a blue glass box filled with six 1000-watt lightbulbs which emit a deep blue light. The beehive, representing hard work and industrialisation is supported by four limestone bisons and as such is sometimes referred to as the Beehive Building.

Zvi Hecker - Ramot Polin apartments

The Ramot Polin apartments, designed by Zvi Hecker in Ramot Polin, East Jerusalem, built by the Ministry of Housing between 1972 and 1975 are a perfect example of a human hive as such

Teuto Rocholl - Mother Temple of Europe

The Bahá’í House of Worship or Mother Temple of Europe near Frankfurt am Main was 1954 competition winning entry by young Frankfurt based architect Teuto Rocholl and was completed 10 years later. The design reflected the postwar interest in buildings with simple structures and walls of glass, built using a steel concrete skeletal (exposed concrete) construction. The reconstructed steel concrete ribs were assembled on site and fixed in place with poured steel concrete rings brought into place at the lower and upper extremities of the ribs around a centrail hive like atrium space.

Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926) and Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) Architects have long been fascinated with bees and their habitats.