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If you build it, they will come… by Ben Faga

If You Build it, They Will Come… by Ben Faga

Royal College of Art graduate Ben Faga is encouraging bees in London to swarm and set up new hives.

If you build it, they will come… by Ben Faga

Top: Peckham Bait-Hive  (51.47°, -0.05°)
Above: Hackney City Farm Bait-Hive (51.53°, -0.05°)

Called If You Build it, They Will Come… the project involves installing boxes Faga calls bait-hives within five kilometres of an existing hive and using a specially-developed chemical to attract the bees.

If you build it, they will come… by Ben Faga

Above: Stoke Newington Bait-Hive (51.55°, -0.07°)

Faga mixed this substance from essential oils, beeswax and the pheromones of a queen bee.

If you build it, they will come… by Ben Faga

Above: Freightliners Farm Bait-Hive (51.56°, -0.07°)

Here's some more information from the designer:


If you build it, they will come…

This project interrogates the border between fear and hope of an event and the prosaic preparations surrounding the possible event. I have created a series of vessels that attract swarming bees, called bait-hives.

If you build it, they will come… by Ben Faga

Above: Vauxhall City Farm Bait-Hive (51.48°, -0.09°)

The vessels contain a custom designed bee attractant that I have created by taking the queens pheromone and mixing it with various essential oils and beeswax. This mixture attracts bees from up to 5 kilometers, engaging their swarming instinct encouraging them to leave their current hive to take residence in my bait-hives.

If you build it, they will come… by Ben Faga

Above and below: on the roof of Rough Luxe hotel (see our earlier story)

In attempts to expand my current apiary, I have set up a network of bait-hive hosts throughout London. The hosts were selected due to their proximity to current beehives, making it very likely that, one day, 20,000+ bees will swarm into the space to inhabit the hive.

If you build it, they will come… by Ben Faga

This scenario forces the bait-hive hosts to confront their comfort level with this object. Do they want to attract a swarm to their space? Are they excited or scared of the prospect of living so close to a swarm of bees?

If you build it, they will come… by Ben Faga

See also:

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The Birds, Bats and Bees
by various designers
The Honeycomb Vase 2007
by Studio Libertiny
More
design stories