The British Pavilion at EXPO MILANO 2015 has been awarded the International Architectural Prize for its innovative beehive design. The jury, composed of members of the International Institute of Architecture (In/Arch) and the National Builders' Association (ANCE), pronounced the design by British Artists and sculptor Wolfgang Buttress a fervent hymn to conservation.
According to the jury the UK is among those that have best interpreted the Expo theme of Feeding the Planet.
The 14m high British beehive reconstruction, composed of a pulsating metal mesh with thousands of LED lights is one of the main attractions at EXPO 2015, attracting thousands of visitors. The natural environment of bees has been created at the entrance, with head-high grassy verges full of wildflowers.
The importance of bees in the food chain is bourne out by the fact that 70 of the 100 basic crop species that provide 90% of the human food supply worldwide are pollinated by bees.
The UK Pavilion, designed by the Heathwick Studio, also won an award at the Shanghai World EXPO 2010 with its novel Seed Cathedral design built from 60,000 slender aluminium rods that constantly quivered and changed shape.
