The pavilion is a monument to adaptability and coexistence with non-humans. Plan Bee represents an alternative concept to building as we know it: Rather than shaping materials and the environment to a newly conceived project, the pavilion adapts its shape and final measurements according to the availability of collected materials and offers space for local ecosystems.
The pavilion follows a tripartite logic: The highest part is composed of spatial steel frames holding a doubled-up perforated metal skin inhabited by bees and a roof allowing the growth of local plants. The resulting roof also offers protection from the rain for cyclists or passers-by wanting to listen to the humming of the bees in early spring.
The delicate and transparent middle part is a viewing platform hung from the upper structure and enclosed by windows of different shapes and sizes. It is a communal space to observe the everyday life of the Dreispitz area.
On the ground floor, a reception area spanning four steel columns is cladded in wood panels and explains the role of bees in the area, and offers honey produced in the structure.
Instead of a problem, the occasional modular differences are solved by the misalignment of the façades and by colored panels in wood or steel.
The potential spatiality of the pavilion results from the diversity of sourced materials: It could be high as a cathedral or squared as an old barn.
Open Call Basel Pavilion 2022, with Sophie Piticco