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Project Details

Fabric 1

Trimmings of various membranes
Producer/Manufacturer: OTHER
Primary Use: OTHER

Engineer Company 1
Bee Space

Design Company
Bee Space (original design and prototype) / Sollertia (prototype, fabrication plans)

Fabrication Company
Sollertia (Membrane)

Graphics Company
Bee Space

Project Manager Company
Sollertia (Membrane) / Bee Space

Please describe the project specifications

Bee Space’s co-founders approached our company for support in the development of their winter covers for beehives. Inspired by the most efficient architectural envelopes, they have developed a new wintering method, standardized and adapted to bee biology. They needed help with prototyping and material testing to create the air space essential for the proper functioning of their winter covers. Right away, we came up with the idea of upcycling membrane trimmings for the manufacturing of the beehive covers. Members of our team worked hand in hand with the client to make their concept come to life for the four models (single and quadruple colonies).

Surprisingly, the cold isn’t the bees’ greatest foe, but rather humidity, which can easily condense and wipe out entire colonies if it gets trapped inside the hive. The main issue is therefore to prevent moisture from entering the hive, while at the same time allowing it to quickly evacuate from it.

The winter of 2021 was an important study period for the Bee Space entrepreneurs, during which important data was collected (temperature, humidity, food ingested by bees, deaths, etc.) to measure the real-life effectiveness of the covers. One hundred and twenty beehives from across the Quebec countryside served as experimental subjects for the trial period. The preliminary results are very encouraging indeed: while beekeepers can regularly expect a whopping 30% loss of their colonies with each cold season, the data collected that spring indicates that the Bee Space covers can reduce this loss to only 16%.

In late summer 2021, Bee Space started to sell their beehive covers to beekeepers across Quebec and other Canadian provinces.

What is unique or complex about the project?

Sustainable development and the sharing of knowledge are key concerns for both Bee Space and our company, these principles have naturally become the engine of our collaboration. The purpose and uniqueness of this project made us want to invest time and energy into it.

We tend to underestimate the depth and breadth of our relationship to bees. To be sure, without the hard work of pollinating insects, the reproduction of the vast majority of botanical species – including most of the vegetables we consume on a regular basis – would simply be impossible. The appearance of bees on earth precedes that of humans, and their disappearance would undoubtedly lead to our demise. Any initiative that aims to help bees live a long and healthy life can therefore be considered a gesture for the longevity of the human species.

Bee Space’s beehive winter cover, a simple and clever product, allows beekeepers to overwinter their bees in optimal conditions, thus reducing losses within their colonies during the cold season.

Not only does a project of this nature allow us to upcycle trimmings from our tensile architecture projects, which do not end up in landfills, but it also contributes to enhance beekeeping which is essential to a balanced ecosystem.

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