To make people more aware of the need to save bees, Ikea has come up with a unique initiative. The company, together with the research and design laboratory SPACE10, launched the free Bee Home project, which caused a huge resonance. The motto was to design a home for lonely bees.

Bee Home by SPACE10 is an open source project that allows contributors to design customizable bee habitats. Ikea Bee Homes was created jointly by Bakken & Bck design studio. The bee house was conceived as a habitat for lonely bees.

What's so special about solitary bees?

Solitary bees vary greatly in size, appearance, and nesting location. Roughly 70 percent of the bees are called mountain bees and nest in underground burrows. Bees that nest in houses are called nest bees.

Don't live in colonies, don't produce honey, and don't have a uterus.

Do not produce wax to build cells inside the nest, instead different species use different materials to build their cells and nests.

Drink nectar straight from the flower and collect pollen most of the time, which is mixed with a little nectar as food for their chicks.

These are fantastic pollinators: one red mason bee is equivalent to 120 working honey bees in the pollination it provides.

They don't have pollen baskets to carry pollen, which means that every time they visit a flower, they lose much more pollen than social bees, making them much better pollinators.

Provide each larva with everything it needs, but they do not care for the cubs when they grow and never see their offspring emerge.

They are non-aggressive and do not swarm.

Safe for children and pets.

These solitary bees play an important role in pollination, and researchers believe that in this respect one bee is equal to the productivity of 120 bees. However, they face the threat of extinction due to rampant urbanization, deforestation and increased pollution.

A single bee can fly several miles every day and move its wings approximately. 11,400 times per minute. For a tiny winged insect, this can be overwhelming. Designed by Ikea, the bee house offers these little bees protection from enemies and the weather.

Image: SPACE10

Bee house launched

Space 10 also praised this project. The project was intended to empower and educate the masses about the importance of these bees in the ecosystem.

SPACE10 Director Kaave Pur said: “For nearly 80 years, IKEA has been helping people improve their daily life at home. But our home is not just four walls - our home is also the planet we live on. That's why we launched Bee Home: we want people around the world to help balance our relationship with the planet and provide a sustainable home for all of us. ”

Bee Home members were given enough flexibility to customize their designs. They were asked to choose a specific size and height for the house. The structure will be located in a backyard, balcony or garden and will be made of wood such as mahogany, oak or cedar.

The design of the bee house was inspired by the wooden joinery practiced in Japan.

Japanese wood joinery design

The design of the bee house was inspired by the wooden joinery practiced in Japan. Several levels in such houses can be connected to each other using a convenient spine and key system.

The designers did not use tools, nails or metal parts, so assembling the houses remained simple. SPACE10 designer Tanita Klein, co-creator of Bee Home's physical design, said: “It was important to me that Bee Home was aesthetically pleasing and almost looked like you had added a sculpture to your garden or balcony. This project really demonstrates how design can benefit both people and their environment.”

A Space 10 style bee house requires little or no maintenance. After creation, it can exist in the open air for 3 years. Design files can be shared with the manufacturer - spaces filled with accessories like soldering irons, sewing machines, 3D printers, laser cutters. This makes it easy to create a bee house.