Another hive design

[DulwichGnome]

I came across this in my travels today,
http://www.good.is/post/urban-beehives-get-a-redesign/

The last paragraph reads,

'The design firm Omlet has taken on this challenge in the past, with its plastic "Beehaus," but other innovation is sure to result. The entrance deadline is November 28, and the organizations involved intend to mass-produce the winning design and install it at sites around the local neighborhoods.'

This was posted 6 October 2011.

From
http://www.architecturefoundation.org.uk/programme/2011/design-competition-inmidtown-habitats

'Deadline for submissions is 28 November 2011 with a shortlist announcement expected in January 2012. Shortlisted designs will be prototyped and displayed in February 2012 with the winner announced following the exhibition.'

This looks like a new design in 6 weeks and on a roof near you this year, without any kind of testing !!

Mike.

 

[Poly Hive]

I do wish they would give over there are far too many as it is.

PH

 

[scuttlefish]

Anyone on here making their own to a non-standard size?

(As in, is what's commercially on offer so bad that you need to re-invent the wheel?)

 

[Midland Beek]

I do wish they would give over there are far too many as it is.

PH

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Agreed

 

[Poly Hive]

The first advice I received on my beginners course was please please please no matter how tempted do NOT even think of inventing another hive. Ant that was before the Rose ego hive and the plastic nonsense from the egg outfit.

PH

 

[Nose Ma]

The first advice I received on my beginners course was please please please no matter how tempted do NOT even think of inventing another hive. Ant that was before the Rose ego hive and the plastic nonsense from the egg outfit.

PH

Same here. Follwed by the advice that, even if we did, someone would modify it anyway, so it would be called the Modified Nose Ma hive...

 

[Andy Duff]

And how long before they end up on fleabay, to be bought by an unsuspecting newbee at a no doubt over inflated price?

 

[Poly Hive]

That is another matter entirely. Buyer beware.

PH

 

[Nic Rhodes]

there have always been new hive designs, what we need is standardization of hives. If we had just one hive type (say Langstroth) then I am sure our equipment prices would be much lower. I was taken through the 'engineered' Hedgecoe hive at NHS, what a complex thing, bits and bobs, nooks and crannies everywhere. This was the total opposite of what I consider to be good engineering. If this came to me to review it would have been killed early on. We need less hives and as long as I have lept bees, then the experienced beekeeprs have always been saying that but still the new hives come .

 

[Hivemaker.]

We already did this a long time ago, BS, but then different hives and frame ideas get brought in from other places.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

and we let the BS lapse....

 

[Hivemaker.]

But had we not let it lapse,would it have stopped the manufacture and import of different hive and frame types.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

personally I don't think so, they backed the wrong horse in the first place (and the majority of my hives are BS) but having dealt with the BS organisation for 15 years now then it is often a lowest common denominator. Warts and all, there is allot to be said for just running with one, regardless. That never happened in the 30s when Dad started, it wasn't the case in the 70s when I started and it is still not the case and I doubt ever will be. Me, I like different hive types to try and like the varriety. There is rarely one type that fits all.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Me, I like different hive types to try and like the varriety. There is rarely one type that fits all.

I agree,so a few more new hive designs will be even better,more variety.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

more different hive designs will work better in different locations, I like commercials down south but up north I prefer 14 x 12 due to the different shape of the brood ball. In poly this changes again so one size doesn't fit all. Even in our area there is a huge difference 3 miles inland....the wettest part of the country is just a few miles away but we receive but a fraction of the rainfall.

 

[BeeJayBee]

The first advice I received on my beginners course was please please please no matter how tempted do NOT even think of inventing another hive. Ant that was before the Rose ego hive and the plastic nonsense from the egg outfit.

Yeah, but I've already been advised to stick to cedar Nationals, not even consider Langstroths, let alone that nasty new-fangled, unhygienic, unburnable and unscorchable, polystyrene. (I'm not actually quoting anybody, just a sort of paraphrase)

Without new ideas things can't 'move forwards'. It's a phrase I detest, but a lot of best practice in beekeeping seems to be stuck in the, "Do as I say because it suits me best, and I've been doing it for the last X-tens of years so I must be right, and if you don't listen to me you're an i*d*i*o*t*", school of thought ... and that includes hive design. There's nothing wrong with innovation, surely?

Duh, the software starred out i d i o t

 

[tonybloke]

There's nothing wrong with innovation, surely?

why ask Shirley?

 

[MuswellMetro]

there have always been new hive designs, what we need is standardization of hives. If we had just one hive type (say Langstroth) then I am sure our equipment prices would be much lower. I was taken through the 'engineered' Hedgecoe hive at NHS, what a complex thing, bits and bobs, nooks and crannies everywhere. This was the total opposite of what I consider to be good engineering. If this came to me to review it would have been killed early on. We need less hives and as long as I have lept bees, then the experienced beekeeprs have always been saying that but still the new hives come .

well ,you should try working a hedgecoe, i have worked on four in the last few years ( not mine, i might add)

it is an engineers hive and has lots to fail and it does, should come with a large roll of gaffer tape, it was designed by our president and several beginners took his talk to heart and made hedgecoes from his plans......like all DIY by amateurs it meant trouble, warped half super, leaking feeders etc etc...the only person i know who still uses them is Mr hedgecoe himself. They are so high you need to be a giant to use it with four super on OSR

They with a B&Q wallpaper stripper do however make excelllent DIY steam wax extractor as the floor drops down........that's about the only good thing i can say about them

 

[sugarbush]

there have always been new hive designs, what we need is standardization of hives. If we had just one hive type (say Langstroth)

If we didn't have innovation we wouldn't even have what we call a Langstroth hive. Langstroth only discovered bee space and patented a removable frame hive. The Super wasn't invented until 1908-09 almost 50 years after Lanstroth's patent.

This is what the lang hive would look like without innovation. This is what he patented.