Elevator B
A specially designed tower in Buffalo has been erected to house the area's dwindling bee population.
In the last few years a bees have been killed off by deadly commercial pesticides. Students from the Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning wanted to show their commitment to the issue by creating a perfect environment for the bees.
They teamed up with Rigidized Metals manufacturer to design a new high-rise home for a large colony of honeybees in Buffalo, NY. The seven meter hive tower, Elevator B, is located in Silo city, and sits amongst a group of disused grain silos near Buffalo River. The metal-frame tower is clad in hexagonal steel panels, and the bees are housed in a wooden box inside it, suspended from the top. The bottom of it is glazed- allowing visitors to spy on the bees. The box is also attached to a system of pulleys, so that beekeepers can lower it, letting visitors get a closer view. The tower’s perforated panels are designed to protect the hive from the wind, and allow for solar gain. They are patterned in a traditional honey comb motif, simple yet beautiful. The tower is a winning entry of the University's Hive City competition, which asked students to design a new habitat for the bees. Elevator B is a first permanent installation in Silo city.
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