Invisible Studio has unveiled the Beezantium, a lakeside apiary for honey bees in the grounds of The Newt hotel in Somerset.
With a hive built into its walls, the Beezantium is designed to house a bee colony, but also serve as an exhibition centre for hotel guests and visitors.
The Beezantium is located on the edge of a lake
Invisible Studio founder Piers Taylor designed the building as "a folly in the landscape", referencing the whimsical pavilions that have been created in English formal gardens for centuries.
The design features various sculptural flourishes, including a curving roof clad in copper shingles and punctured by oval-shaped windows.
The curved roof is clad in copper shingles
Other details are designed to suit the building's practical function, for instance, the walls are clad in large panels of unseasoned oak that offer natural holes for the bees to enter through. A system of copper pipes has also been built into the building's structure, to make it easier for bees to fly in and out.
The walls are unseasoned oak, with gaps where bees can enter
"The Beezantium has been designed to provide a sensory, otherworldly experience," said Taylor.
"It appears jewel-like, quirky and playful, almost like a folly with a glowing copper roof. But instead of being only about pleasure, the Beezantium is a purposeful building designed to house bees in observation hives in the external walls."
The apiary is built into the walls of the building
The a...