A New Ecology of Place

“How would nature respond to this brief?” Nature would create something simple, efficient, adaptable, resilient and yet, beautiful. Its response would be a result of slow, evolutionary cycles.

By using hexagonal cells, bees make the best use of the space available to them; they create a lightweight but sturdy honeycomb with a minimum amount of wax, and store the maximum amount of honey in a given space. In fact, it is mathematically demonstrated that regular hexagons are the best way to divide a space into equal parts with minimal structural support.
Inspired by this engineering marvel of nature, we look at the honeycomb structure and its organisation as the inspiration for a radically new living environment of the future.

We call it: ”The HIVE Project” - Human-Inclusive & Versatile Ecosystem.​​​​​

HIVE combines the properties of the honeycomb with the shape of the archetypal house and creates a new hybrid type of living space able to merge nature’s efficiency with the ingenuity of humans. The notion of home extends beyond human beings to include animals, trees, the wind and rain. Humans have as much of a privileged status in it as the rest of the natural world. Our ambition is to introduce a “new ecology of place” where our presence does not damage the ecosystem but enriches, supports and vastly benefits from its regeneration.

Beauty is Diverse and Inclusive

“A beehive depends upon diversity of population for expanding and flourishing.” And so does our society.
Diversity and inclusion are the key aspects we intend to promote with “The HIVE Project’’. Due to the great degree of flexibility given by the hexagonal module, each inhabitant will have the possibility to customise their home in multiple ways and at different stages of life. This includes the interior finishing, accessibility and the outdoor amenities of the house. A great variety of “HIVE Windows’’ can be chosen and personalised with different materials, colours and add-ons. If you love nature you can bring your personal small forest in front of your house. If you like sun and water a small private swimming pool offers an open view of the landscape and if you love bees or birds you can have either your private beehive or rescue nest on your doorstep.

Human Scaled Living

“Bees are social insects, they live together in well-organised communities”. 

The presence of several generations in a single nest, the strong sense of belonging
that hugely benefits all and the purpose-for-everyone make them a community paradigm. It is fundamental to enable inhabitants of all ages to feel comfortable, safe and truly useful to the community through their individual role, contribution and purpose in it. The design creates a biophilic home with place and meaning for all.
The flexibility of the beehive modular system allows for huge customisation so that people tailor their homes to specific circulation, accessibility, lifestyle needs. For example, in double-storey homes the same module is designed to accommodate either a stairwell or an elevator. Ramps and smooth paths replace conventional steps and obstacles. On higher floors, open hexagonal modules allow inhabitants to share or own gardens, orchards and playgrounds. Spacious private terraces allow people to interact with neighbours and a mix of private, semi-private and shared spaces allow residents to keep privacy and socialise with others. Soundproofing and noise control are easily managed by the well insulated and structurally independent prefabricated modules.

A Socio-Eco-System 

Our proposal for “Home of the 2030” intends to develop a system rather than a defined design solution.
Considering the new challenges that our society will face in the next decades, “The HIVE Project” focuses on social cohesion and nature regeneration as the two key criteria.

This Socio-Eco-System includes a wide range of components from residential modular estates (categorised by size), shared services buildings, energy and food-production facilities, shared e-vehicle premises, urban connectivity components and wild nature habitats. We intend to provide the HIVE with a wide spectrum of co-owned and shared facilities that will empower individuals, families and communities to be self-sufficient while allowing local authorities and administration to limit the need for public investments.
The definition of the exact range of components may be decided in a participatory way together with future residents from the earliest stages of planning. Using these “Kits-of-Parts”, very single plot development will be unique and diverse.

A successful housing developments project relies on an evidence based, data driven and people centred approach – providing reasoned justification for the socio-economic benefits. In the following design phases we’ll be using predictive day-in-life modelling and spatial analytics to measure and enhance opportunities for social interactions and dwell times, pedestrian comfort, safety, accessibility and journey times, footfall and opportunities to engage with healthy living activities.

From Nature to Nature

The HIVE project relies on circular economy principles to sustain its growth and life-cycle:

01 - The brownfield site is identified.

02- The plot is divided in the “Nature Regeneration area” (NRA) and the future “Development Area” (DA). During the planning and permission phase the latter becomes a temporary crop area (i.e. Industrial hemp for construction).

03 - Off-site, the timber-frame structure of the modular system is efficiently assembled with advanced robotic and IoT technologies in order to minimise installation time and labour on-site.

04 - A mix of locally sourced industrial hemp and natural binder offers an alternative to traditional insulation layers with: Carbon-negative footprint, excellent humidity control, vapour permeability and strong sound insulation properties.

05 - The module is ready to be shipped to the site.

06 - While the NRA flourishes, buildings are being constructed (or extended) on the DA.

07 - The community grows, changes and adds new functions thanks to the great flexibility offered by the HIVE system.

08 - Nature does around and within the DA; this new socio-eco-system grows together in a new form of ecology where men and nature are finally back in balance.

09 - At the end of its life-cycle, the biodegradable materials used for construction (i.e. hemp, limestone, wood, etc.), can be easily disposed of, becoming nutrients for nature and crops. The remaining parts can be reclaimed and reused for new constructions in line with the circular economy principles.

110% Water On-site​​​​​​​

Our water cycle strategy relies on five principles: reduce water consumption, collect and reuse rainwater in a cradle-to-cradle cycle, install dedicated networks for potable, grey-water and black-water, recycle grey-water, recycle human waste and black-water.

Water saving fittings and micro-flush composting toilets create a network of devices that reduces water demand. A community harvested rainwater cistern supplies part of the dwelling’s water demand. Humanure fertiliser and leachate are used to feed local food production for the community.

Energy Self-sufficiency

Roof-installed PV systems supported by onsite renewable energies provide electricity to dwellings, public areas and shared e-vehicles charging stations. 

Heating, cooling and hot water systems rely on geothermal closed loop piles and heat pumps for temperature and indoor comfort control. Our solar studies suggest the best orientation of the dwellings is 60°/75° N in order to minimise overheating during summer and energy saving during winter.

Air quality sensors, mechanical ventilation systems and natural ventilation ensure safety and the highest air quality standards.

A computer-based control system (BMS) allows a smart management of all resources.

Credits

Project developed in collaboration with: Roman Pomazan (Urban Design/Architecture at Urban Sustain Design - Ukraine) / Buro Happold (Shrikant Sharma and Becky Hayward - Analytics Team - UK) / Davide Frati (Sustainability Consultant - UK) / Loris A. Di Benedetto (Architect - UK) / Richard Holmes (Community Development Consultant - UK) / Hempire LTD (Sergiy Kovalenko - Hemp Construction Consultant - California - US) / Marlegno s.r.l. (Marco Crippa - Prefabricated Timber Structures Consultant - Italy).

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