THE HIVE PROJECT HOME OF 2030 IDEAS COMPETITION
Gianluca Santosuosso (Gianluca Santosuosso Design - Architecture) Eri Pontikopoulou (EPDS - Architecture) Roman Pomazan (Urban Sustain Architects - Urban Planning) Shrikant Sharma and Becky Hayward (Buro Happold – Analytics) Davide Frati (Sustainability Consultant) Loris a. di Benedetto (Architecture) Richard Holmes (Community Development Consultant) Sergiy Kovalenko (Hempire Ltd – Hemp Construction Consultant) Marco Crippa (Marlegno s.r.l. – Prefabricated Timber structures Consultant)
LONDON, UK 2020
H405 Affordable & Easy to Maintain
Attractive & Innovative
Encouraging family-connection, playing & learnig with nature.
Customisable & Adaptable
Offering space for shared activities and healthy lifestyle.
The
HIVE project
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Sustainable
Suitable for all Generations Connects People & Communities
Human Scaled Living “Bees are social insects, they live together in well-organised communities�. The presence of several generations in a single nest, the strong sense of belonging that hugely benefits all and the purpose-for-everyone make them a community paradigm. It is fundamental to enable inhabitants of all ages to feel comfortable, safe and truly useful to the community through their individual role, contribution and purpose in it. The design creates a biophilic home with place and meaning for all. The flexibility of the beehive modular system allows for huge customisation so that peo01
ple tailor their homes to specific circulation, accessibility, lifestyle needs. For example, in double-storey homes the same module is designed to accommodate either a stairwell or an elevator. Ramps and smooth paths replace conventional steps and obstacles.
Easy maintenance, shared facilities and customisation.
Strong and safe digital infrastructure for distinctive living/working spaces.
On higher floors, open hexagonal modules allow inhabitants to share or own gardens, orchards and playgrounds. Spacious private terraces allow people to interact with neighbours and a mix of private, semi-private and shared spaces allow residents to keep privacy and socialise with others. Soundproofing and noise control are easily managed by the well insulated and structurally independent prefabricated modules.
Growing up in a home that sets the standard for a better future.
Accesibilty, comfortable spaces and safety.
H405
A Socio-Eco-System Our proposal for “Home of the 2030” intends to develop a system rather than a defined design solution. Considering the new challenges that our society will face in the next decades, “The HIVE Project” focuses on social cohesion and nature regeneration as the two key criteria. This Socio-Eco-System includes a wide range of components from residential modular estates (categorized by size), shared services buildings, energy and food-production facilities, shared e-vehicle premises, urban connectivity components and wild nature habitats. We intend to provide the HIVE with a wide spectrum of co-owned and shared facilities that will empower individuals, families and communities to be self-sufficient while allowing local authorities and administration to limit the need for public investments. The definition of the exact range of components may be decided in a participatory way together with future residents from the earliest stages of planning. Using these “Kits-of-Parts”, every single plot development will be unique and diverse. A successful housing developments project relies on an evidence based, data driven and people centred approach – providing reasoned justification for the socio-economic benefits. In the following design phases we’ll be using predictive day-in-life modelling and spatial analytics to measure and enhance opportunities for social interactions and dwell times, pedestrian comfort, safety, accessibility and journey times, footfall and opportunities to engage with healthy living activities.
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RESIDENTIAL UNITS Log House (20 m²)
Small Family House (80 m²)
Studio House (40 m²)
Family House (120 m²)
Double Family House (160 m²)
Community House (Various m²)
SHARED FACILITIES Pop-up Market / Book Exchange / Flea Market
Community Hub
Cultural & Performance Venue
Industry 4.0 Lab / Co-working Space
Shared E-Vehicle Parking & Charging
FOOD & ENERGY FACILITIES
Community Beehive
Aquaponic Vertical Farm
Fruit & Vegetable Garden
Drone Delivery Hub
Greenhouse
On-site Renewables
SPORT FACILITIES & NATURE
Thinking Bulb & Butterfly Garden
Fitness Centre
Endemic Forest & Wetlands
Sport Facilities
Playground & Skatepark
H405 01
Off-site Production
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Natural Regeneration Area
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Brownfield Site Development Area: (i.e. Industrial Hemp Crops)
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Shipping On-site
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From Nature / to Nature 1st Floor
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Front Elevation
Family House (120 m²)
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Side Elevation
Ground Floor
Small Family House (80 m²)
End of the life-cycle
Studio House (40 m²)
01 - The brownfield site is identified. 02- The plot is divided in the “Nature Regeneration area” (NRA) and the future “Development Area” (DA). During the planning and permission phase the latter becomes a temporary crop area (i.e. Industrial hemp for construction). 03 - Off-site, the timber-frame structure of the modular system is efficiently assembled with advanced robotic and IoT technologies in order to minimise installation time and labour on-site. 04 - A mix of locally sourced industrial hemp and natural binder offers an alternative to traditional insulation layers with: Carbon-negative footprint, excellent humidity control, vapour permeability and strong sound insulation properties. 05 - The module is ready to be shipped to the site. 06 - While the NRA flourishes, buildings are being constructed (or extended) on the DA. 07 - The community grows, changes and adds new functions thanks to the great flexibility offered by the HIVE system. 08 - Nature does around and within the DA; this new socio-eco-system grows together in a new form of ecology where men and nature are finally back in balance. 09 - At the end of its life-cycle, the biodegradable materials used for construction (i.e. hemp, limestone, wood, etc.), can be easily disposed of, becoming nutrients for nature and crops. The remaining parts can be reclaimed and reused for new constructions in syntony with the circular economy principles.
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The HIVE project relies on circular economy principles to sustain its growth and life-cycle.
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110% Water On-site Our water cycle strategy relies on five principles: reduce water consumption, collect and reuse rainwater in a cradle-to-cradle cycle, install dedicated networks for potable, greywater and blackwater, recycle greywater, recycle human waste and blackwater. Water saving fittings and micro-flush composting toilets create a network of devices that reduce water demand. A community harvested rainwater cistern supplies part of the dwelling’s water demand. Humanure fertiliser and leachate are used to feed local food production for the community.
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01 - Rainwater from Roof/Pavements 02 - Diverter + Rainwater Buffer 03 - Rainwater Cistern 04 - Filter + Chlorination + UV filters 05 - Potable Water Group 06 - Water Table + Appliances 07 - Food Production Irrigation
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08 - Greywater Tank 09 - Anaerobic Baffled Reactor 10 - Green Public Areas
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11 - WC 12 - WC Composter 13 - Lichete Tank 14 - Humanure Fertiliser
Energy Self-sufficiency
15 - PV tiles on units roof 16 - Domestic electricity supply and Circadian Lights for indoor 17 - Onsite renewables
Roof-installed PV systems supported by onsite renewables provide electricity to dwellings, public areas and shared e-vehicles charging stations. Heating, cooling and hot water systems rely on geothermal closed loop piles and heat pumps for temperature and indoor comfort control. Our solar studies suggest the best orientation of the dwellings is 60o/75o N in order to minimise overheating during summer and energy saving during winter. Air quality sensors, mechanical ventilation systems and natural ventilation ensure safety and the highest air quality standards. A computer-based control system (BMS) allows a smart management of all resources.
18 - Geothermal Closed Loop/energy Pile 19 - Heat pump + Hydronic Modules 20 - LTHW tank 21 - DHW tank 22 - Underfloor heating 23 - Air Conditioning Unit 24 - Tech Space for Network Infrastructure and underfloor storage
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25 - BMS enables a more efficient billing service for tenants, remote monitoring, reliable and quick customer service and cost-minimising ordinary maintenance.
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A New Ecology of Place “How would nature respond to this brief?” Nature would create something simple, efficient, adaptable, resilient and yet, beautiful. Its response would be a result of slow, evolutionary cycles. By using hexagonal cells, bees make the best use of the space available to them; they create a lightweight but sturdy honeycomb with a minimum amount of wax, and store the maximum amount of honey in a given space. In fact, it is mathematically demonstrated that regular hexagons are the best way to divide a space into equal parts with minimal structural support. Inspired by this engineering marvel of nature, we look at the 01
honeycomb structure and its organisation as the inspiration for a radically new living environment of the future. We call it: ”The HIVE Project” - Human-Inclusive & Versatile Ecosystem. HIVE combines the properties of the honeycomb with the shape of the archetypal house and creates a new hybrid type of living space able to merge nature’s efficiency with the ingenuity of humans. The notion of home extends beyond human beings to include animals, trees, the wind and rain. Humans have as much of a privileged status in it as the rest of the natural world. Our ambition is to introduce a “new ecology of place” where our presence does not damage the ecosystem but enriches, supports and vastly benefits from its regeneration.
Honeycomb Cell Structure
Archetypal House Shape
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Honeycomb efficiently produced by bees
New Type of Living Space
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Easily recognisable and connected to human scale
A new typology of living space
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Beauty is Diverse and Inclusive “A beehive depends upon diversity of population for expanding and flourishing.” And so does our society. Diversity and inclusion are the key aspects we intend to promote with “The HIVE Project’’. Due to the great degree of flexibility given by the hexagonal module, each inhabitant will have the possibility to customise their home in multiple ways and at different stages of life. This includes the interior finishing, accessibility and the outdoor amenities of the house. A great variety of “HIVE Windows’’ can be chosen and personalised with different materials, colours and add-ons. 02
If you love nature you can bring your personal small forest in front of your house. If you like sun and water a small private swimming pool offers an open view of the landscape and if you love bees or birds you can have either your private beehive or rescue nest on your doorstep. 01
Whereas the modularity of the prefabricated timber frame structure allows the development to be scalable and cost-effective, the customisable features of the exteriors create an architecture with an ever-different look. This encourages all the personalities, needs, lifestyle preferences of its residents to flourish through diversity, distinction, inclusivity and, in this way, creates polyphony and beauty.
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HIVE Windows examples: 01 - Infinity swimming pool and sun deck. 02 - Floating personal forest and adjustable indoor/outdoor spaces according to seasons. 03 - Privacy window for more private spaces of the house and with a sun shading system integrated. 04 - Beehive balcony. 05 - Bird nest balcony. 06 - Veggie garden expansion. 07 - Green see-through facade. 08 - Each “HIVE Window” can be customised by the residents and adapted/changed in the future by adding new functions.