A Colorful Home for Bees by Future More Keeps the Hive Alive

Overexposure to pesticides and colony collapse disorder are just some of the dangers facing the world’s honey bee population. Nick Beens, the fortuitously named co-founder of Future More, developed Temples in response to these threats for the “Future Mythologies” group exhibition at Dutch Design Week Eindhoven, the design collective’s hometown.

> Check out all 20 Big Ideas from the March 2019 issue

Beens, a 2017 graduate of the city’s prestigious Design Academy, knows that bees, the pollinators of our precious food crops, are essential to human existence and believes they’re worthy of worship. His idea then was to create safe, man-made homes for them and other pollinators such as butterflies. Like vertical bed-and-breakfasts for the winged set, the prototypes were formed from CNC-milled MDF that’s been spray-painted vivid colors. Open slots on either end were filled with more than 100 hollow reeds, which are a natural insect shelter. At once, bees are protected and urban balconies and gardens are accessorized.

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