A hempcrete insect habitat

Architectural firm Harrison Atelier designed a pavilion made of hempcrete, especially designed to house insects.

When most people hear to term pollinator, the honeybee will come to mind. However, there are many bee species, many of which are solitary and lay their eggs in burrows and tunnels underground rather than in a hive. Much remains unknown about these species, despite their importance as the pollinators for 70% of the non-agricultural environment.

The pavilion, made with a wooden frame and hempcrete, functions as a habitat, monitoring station, and visitors’ entrance to nonprofit group The Bee Conservancy on Governors Island in the New York harbour. The pavilion offers a vertical ecology with nesting tubes for bees at its lowest rungs, plants and water catchment above, and solar panels at the top. The generated electricity powers the cameras and microprocessors that comprise the data-gathering components of the pavilion.

Photos: Harrison Atelier