City Hive : Rooftop Beehive to Promote Urban Beekeeping

Honey bees population have been going down the hill for the last fifty years, just for your information, one third of our food needs to be pollinated by insects where honey bees are responsible for most of it. That’s why theNDC has come up with City Hive, a rooftop beehive that promotes urban beekeeping to raise awareness of the plight of honeybees. Due to Colony Collapse Disorder (a condition where many worker bees colony abruptly disappear), we have to experience decreasing in local bee populations by 35%, and up to 50% in some European countries. Yes, farmers can rent pollination service due to honeybee shortage, however, this also means increasing production cost by 20%.

The main design of City Hive is inspired by water towers, just like the one you see sit on the rooftops around the city. Rooftops make an ideal location for honeybee colonies because they prevent direct contact with people that most of the time prefer to stay away from the interaction. The unique form and location of these towers create a beautiful, reminiscent silhouette to the cityscape.

Designer : theNDC

City Hive Rooftop Beehive by theNDC

City Hive Rooftop Beehive by theNDC

This project was developed by a real beekeeper, as you can see here, the hive functionality is based on the traditional Langstroth design, the standard style of hive for 75% of beekeepers around the world. The exterior is clad in cedar that is steam bent to sit flush on the round inner profile, and left raw to encourage natural weathering. The body features honeycomb pattern to represent its function and insulate the hive. The cedar acts as passive shading for hive body by reflecting sunlight in the summer but letting light come through the cracks during winter when the sun is low.

City Hive Rooftop Beehive by theNDC

City Hive Rooftop Beehive by theNDC



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3 thoughts on “City Hive : Rooftop Beehive to Promote Urban Beekeeping

  1. This is an absolutely terrible idea; remove the functionality of swappable frames from langstroth hives, as well as the ease of manufacture by making expensive steam bent wood. Further complicate the design by making it impossible to set a super on its side by allowing it to roll away. The frames also hang out the bottom so setting a super on its bottom is also going to make a mess of things. It goes to show you that even “actual beekeepers” can still make up really expensive dumb ways to keep bees.

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