The design of the Guerilla Beehive is inspired by nature. The content (± 40 liters) responds to the nest-needs of a bee colony living in the wild, and the mobile architecture makes it easily deployable on different spots in public space, hence its name: the Guerilla Beehive. The hive can be grafted on the wall of a building or wrapped around the branch of a tree in a park (the bees prefer a ‘higher’ spot, south-east oriented). The beehive has been enhanced with a sensor network in order to monitor the health of the colony without interference and thus allow better care. The Guerilla Beehive is made out of smart organic materials with usefull properties in respect to temperature fluctuation, humidity and ventilation. The hive has a high tactile potential; the flexible rubber of the outer skin and the warm and soft cork of the inner skin invite to touch and feel. All materials are biodegradable. Once the colony decides to leave the hive, the Guerilla Beehive will fall as a ripe apple from the tree and decompose completely. It is a cradle to cradle design.

The form of the Guerilla Beehive is inspired on a pollen grain of a Fragaria vesca (a wild strawberry). The model is sculpted in high density foam and is cladded with a skin in bioplastic, made on the basis of Psyllium ovata. The model and skin are vacuum pressed to reveal the embossed voronoi design on the front of the hive.
The hive-entrance is in between the wind-protective wings on the left side. The entrance is monitored by a camera and the processed images are send via bluetooth to a monitor.
The camera is powered by a Raspberry Pi which is hosted at the other side of the beehive, in a small 3D-printed pocket. The back of the hive is decorated with a 3D-printed voronoi design in flexible filament. The solarpanel is fixed on a 3D-printed solarpanel holder.

Video on the development of the project: