IKEA Encourages People To Build Their Own Bee Homes Free Of Charge
May 20 marked the World Bee Day, and to draw more attention to the problem of bee extinction, research and design lab SPACE10, supported by IKEA, teamed up with design studio Bakken & Bæck and industrial designer Tanita Klein to give people the opportunity to design their own bee homes. You can create one and download the design files free of charge here.
More info: Bee Home | SPACE10 | Bakken & Bæck | Tanita Klein
Image credits: Irina Boersma
Most of us have heard that bees are on the verge of extinction but little of us actually know what we can do to help prevent that. SPACE10’s latest project wants to make it easy for people to contribute. Simply design a bee house you like, download the plans, have them printed out at a local makerspace, assemble it and place it near some flowers.
Image credits: Irina Boersma
Image credits: Brendan Austin
“With a design that is flexible and accessible through open-source design principles, everyone, everywhere is empowered to design and fabricate their own Bee Home locally,” explains the creators of the project.
Image credits: Irina Boersma
Even though may appear small, they’re actually pretty efficient workers – a single solitary bee can pollinate as much plants as 120 honeybees.
Image credits: Brendan Austin
Bee Home even provides a handy map where you can find makerspaces and bee hosts closest to you.
Image credits: Brendan Austin
Image credits: Adrian Vindelev
Designer Tanita Klein explained that she wants people to design their dream homes for bees that provide the perfect environment for their offspring while being incredibly easy to design, assemble, and place at the same time.
Image credits: Adrian Vindelev
“It was important for me that Bee Home is aesthetically pleasing and almost feels like you’ve added a sculpture to your garden or your balcony,” continued the designer. “This project really exemplifies how design can do good for both people and their environment.”
Image credits: Adrian Vindelev
Just in case you’re afraid of getting stung, there is no need to be afraid – solitary bees do not produce honey therefore they have nothing to protect. Not only that – male bees don’t even have a stinger.
Image credits: Irina Boersma
Got wisdom to pour?
It looks really cool. It is also important to understand that beekeeping is not only about buying houses for bees. For a novice beekeeper, the smallest details of work are important – those that experienced beekeepers no longer pay attention to. In this beekeeping blog you can find a lot of useful information about it.