Bee burrow
Creating a place for bees through innovative and sustainable design along the Stieltjesweg and Mekelpark.
This burrow is a product of the ECOCampus ON-SITE elective course at the Faculty of Architecture. In this course, master’s students progress from vision and design to execution within nine weeks. Last year, the student group focused on the theme of bees, as bees face significant challenges in the Netherlands.
Author
Urban Ecology Design Lab
Location
Delft, the Netherlands
TU Delft Team
Dr. Ir. Nico Tillie
Ir. Rosa de Wolf
ON SITE ECOCampus students ’22-23′
Charlotte Delobbe
Eline Holtes
Fabian Schwegman
Harini Sivakumar
Ilse Trim
Janine Schmeitz
Jing Spaaij
Julius Knoester
Maxime Lugtenburg
Pia Bosveld
Pleun te Braake
Sammy Lei
Stef de Horde
Wout de Joode
Yiwen Ji
To thrive, bees require ample nesting sites and food sources. The selected vegetation for this bee burrow includes Amelanchier lamarckii, Crataegus monogyna, and Berberis vulgaris. Additionally, a variety of vegetation has naturally sprouted, supplementing the planted species.
Approximately 80% of bees nest in the ground, and this burrow provides a nesting facility for such bees. This is evident from the loamy sand and the specific orientation of the burrow. Constructed in 2023, the bee burrow is made from materials that could no longer be reused on campus, such as dead wood, concrete clinkers, and roof tiles. If you look closely, you can already spot several nests in the sand, marked by small holes.
