On Exhibit

• A human-scale demonstration of “bee space,” enabling visitors to walk into and experience the spatial dimensions of a beehive.
• A celebration of the hexagon – the fundamental shape which makes up honeycomb – the ideal shape for economizing labor and resources while maximizing storage volume and strength. The exhibition highlights examples of contemporary architecture employing the hexagon as a key construction and design component.
• A commissioned illustration of honeybees over Downtown Houston by architects and designers Amna Ansari, AIA and Marcus Martinez, AIA with Associates UltraBarrio.
• Methods of cooling and heating human homes and office buildings that find similarities within bee colonies. Bees have an amazing ability to regulate the temperature of their hives using their bodies.
• An explanation of the sophisticated and complex mass communication of bees, key to the success and survival of the hive. Worker bees use the “waggle dance” to communicate distance, direction, and quality of nearby nectar, directing workers to resources. A waggle dance pattern will wind its way through the gallery.
• A living beehive contained in a case.

The Architecture of Bees is accompanied by several public programs including bee keeping courses and pollinator walks in collaboration with Buffalo Bayou Partnership; a Biophilia and Bees lecture; and a beehive-inspired architectural workshop for kids.

More information on The Architecture of Bees exhibition, associated public programs, and other news from Architecture Center Houston may be found at www.aiahouston.org, or on Facebook at Instagram using #ArCHofBees.