The UK Pavilion for the 2015 Milan Expo will bring awareness to the plight of vanishing bees with a virtual beehive made of fine steel lattice and LED lights that glow and pulsate according to signals from a real hive. Chosen among eight shortlisted teams, Wolfgang Buttress' project references the expo’s theme “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.”
The team designed a proposal that aims to bring visitors closer to the British landscape and emphasize the pressing issue of dying honeybee populations. Besides Nottingham-based artist Wolfgang Buttress, the team includes fashion designer Paul Smith and specialist engineer Simmons Studio. Responsible for the manufacturing and production will be UK-based Stage One, while construction work will be done by RISE.
Related: Stunning Chinese Pavilion for Milan Expo 2015 Resembles Billowing Wheat Fields
Visitors will walk through an orchard and wildflower meadow with seating and a pathway that leads to the main volume of the pavilion. Passing the entry that features a virtual hive reacting to signals from a real beehive, the visitors will trace the path of a honeybee as it moves from its food source to a bee colony.
