Designing nature

On a global scale, honeybees feed more than 7 billion people by pollinating crops around the world, and are thus crucial to food production. Over the past few years we have experienced a drastic decline in the world's bee population. In Norway, one third of the species are in threat of extinction and twelve of them are already lost. This has led to local design initiatives focusing on preservation of bees and their environments, also in urban locations.

_{(http://www.alternet.org/environment/honeybees-are-facing-global-threat-and-if-they-go-so-do-we)}

Foto: Sunniva H Stokken

My interest in urban beekeeping have led me to research the placement of beehives in Oslo. ByBi (Citybee) is a local beekeeping initiative, established in October 2012, and a part of Norges Bir?kterlag. They are working towards mobilization and recruitment of beekeepers, bees and plant crops rich in nectar. They are also working towards production of ecological honey and bee products, as a way of spreading knowledge about local food production and interaction with nature. ByBi have made a natural route for bees throughout Oslo called "the pollinator passage", where the beehives on the roof of Mathallen, designed by the architectural design firm Sn?hetta, is a central element.

Oslo Apiary is an artistrun initiative that have beehives placed on the roof of Kunstnernes Hus. They are concerned with inner city environmental protection, urban agriculture and cultural entrepreneurship. Their harvested honey are sold in secondhand crystal vases and sealed of with bees wax. The labels are made from paper containing wildflower seeds, so with a purchase you potentially get both honey, a vase, and a bouquet. The wildflower seeds are also potential future food sources for the bees, therefore completing the food cycle.

I plan to examine these projects in relation to local sustainable design, the commercial aspects of the location of the beehives, the aesthetic concerns that have been taken, and how the projects relate to the concept of constructed nature. This will be further explored in future blogposts.