BEEbrane
Mentor 1
Nikole Bouchard
Location
Union Cinema
Start Date
29-4-2016 12:00 PM
Description
What if urban wood didn’t have to go to the wood chipper, or worse, the landfill? What if it could serve a purpose? The BEEbrane seeks to do just that. Functioning in the space between Art and Architecture, the BEEbrane makes use of urban wood to create an installation that is simultaneously an urban honeybee habitat and an engaging public art piece. Within recent years honey bee populations have dropped significantly, resulting in notable negative effects on our environment. Honeybees are vitally important to our ecological systems, pollinating many of the world’s crucial crops. Finding ways to keep populations from shrinking is paramount. The BEEbrane began by researching honeybees, their habitats, beekeeping techniques and other types of tree hollow dwelling animals. Characteristics of natural honeybee hives, specifically their geometry and solar orientation were examined with regards to the sizing and placement of the BEEbrane. Precedent research was the next step. A number of art installations by various artists and man-made honeybee hives were investigated to inspire innovative construction techniques. Next urban wood scraps were collected from a local tree service to produce a series of small-scale studies that explored formal potentials. From there, larger experiments were produced to meet the functional needs of the honeybees and further explore the project’s artistic expression. Investigations were then conducted using the offcuts from the original form studies to demonstrate how the “waste” pieces could achieve some of the desired effects. The project resulted in a number of small studies, one of which was further developed and built at full scale. The BEEbrane is an ongoing project that demonstrates how a “waste” material can be seen not as abject, but as opportunity for ecological improvement and environmental education.
BEEbrane
Union Cinema
What if urban wood didn’t have to go to the wood chipper, or worse, the landfill? What if it could serve a purpose? The BEEbrane seeks to do just that. Functioning in the space between Art and Architecture, the BEEbrane makes use of urban wood to create an installation that is simultaneously an urban honeybee habitat and an engaging public art piece. Within recent years honey bee populations have dropped significantly, resulting in notable negative effects on our environment. Honeybees are vitally important to our ecological systems, pollinating many of the world’s crucial crops. Finding ways to keep populations from shrinking is paramount. The BEEbrane began by researching honeybees, their habitats, beekeeping techniques and other types of tree hollow dwelling animals. Characteristics of natural honeybee hives, specifically their geometry and solar orientation were examined with regards to the sizing and placement of the BEEbrane. Precedent research was the next step. A number of art installations by various artists and man-made honeybee hives were investigated to inspire innovative construction techniques. Next urban wood scraps were collected from a local tree service to produce a series of small-scale studies that explored formal potentials. From there, larger experiments were produced to meet the functional needs of the honeybees and further explore the project’s artistic expression. Investigations were then conducted using the offcuts from the original form studies to demonstrate how the “waste” pieces could achieve some of the desired effects. The project resulted in a number of small studies, one of which was further developed and built at full scale. The BEEbrane is an ongoing project that demonstrates how a “waste” material can be seen not as abject, but as opportunity for ecological improvement and environmental education.
