Architecture folio - Urban bee farm

CONTENTS

YEAR3/SEMESTER1

01 design conflict

design section / urban & mobility tutor / tsuto sakamoto

02 design philosophy

a008455a / wong shi min serene

03 research & analysis 04 one day sketches

URBAN BEE FARM

05 proposed intervention

DESIGN CONFLICT

In production processes, there is the issue of intentional dishonesty for the good of favorable consumption (opacity) Producers tend to hide parts of the production process that deters consumers from consuming Consumers tend to have their own inferences about food production when faced with such incomplete knowledge of the production process

SOURCE

CULTIVATION

01

HARVEST

PACKAGING

DISTRIBUTION

CONSUMPTION

INTENDED PROGRAM

Price Index For Honey In Singapore

Honey exports have recently experienced an increase possibly due to the lone existence of a honey bee farm in Lim Chu Kang.

Red represents the local demand for honey, which can be seen to be steadily rising in recent years.

As there are not many local options for honey consumptions, the bulk of honey demand stems from overseas imports.

There is a strong market demand for honey in SIngapore.

Honey Bee Farm Zoning Breakdown

Programs honey bee hives tropical fruit orchard (nectar source) workshop rooms viewing galleries factory for bee-derived products marketplace

(sq m) : 120 : 700 : 240 : 100 : 200 : 400

02 PHILOSOPHY

Consumer interactions at all stages of production

Consumer interaction at final stage of production Production

Consumption

Production

Consumption

I am focusing on the idea of moving away from a passive production - consumption relationship, to a more dynamic one.

Using the idea of fragmentation, I want to spread out the production process across a larger area in the form of cluster units.

The 3 mains processes of production occur at 3 places: the bee hives, the honey house and the packaging area.

This is to create pockets of in-between spaces for consumers to mingle for more integration.

This allows for the multi-layering of different circulation paths and activities.v

Production Consumption Source Possible Interactions In The Relationship

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS HONEY BEE ANATOMY

Hairy and reddish brown thorax Large, dark eyes Wings Antennas

Striped abdomen

Six legs

Stinger

Apis cerana (eastern honey bee)

A DEMOSTRATION OF EUSOCIALITY

COLONY ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE

QUEEN

The queen is the largest, longest bee - a reproductive female who lays eggs for the colony. She can live up to 4 years

DRONE

The drones are male bees and they mate with virgin queens.

They are bigger than worker bees and do not carry out any foraging activities. He dies after mating.

Pollen basket on back leg

WORKER

The worker is the smallest bee in the hive = a sterile female who carries out all the tasks for the colony. ie. feeding larve abd foraging.

She can live for about 3-4 weeks.

Caste system divides labor between reproductive individuals (queen) and sterile individuals (workers) Responsibilites for rearing young shared by large number of the sterile individuals on behalf of the reproductives 1 Queen : 50,000 Workers : 200 Drones : 9,000 larva, 20,000 pupa : 6,000 eggs

03 HONEY BEE LIFE CYCLE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19 20

21

22

23

24

Days

Worker

Drone

Queen

Eggs

Larva

Pupa

Adult

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS HIVE COMPONENTS

A B C D E F G

Outer Cover Inner Cover Medium Extracting Super Shallow Extracting Super Queen Excluder Full Depth Hive Body Bottom Board Honey produced in these supers are collected for human consumption

184 51

A B C

425

552

13 410

501

166

502

371

D

144

502

371

E

19 502

Honey produced in this super is for the bees’ own consumption

371

F

240

502

371 60

G 558

A small super yields 7L of honey A medium super yields 15L of honey 30 hives yield (7 x 30) + (15 x 30) = 660L 4 times a year

371

391

03 FRUIT TREE ORCHARD

2.5 m radius from the next fruit tree

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS HONEY BEE DERIVED PRODUCTS

03 HARVESTING HONEY AT THE BEE HIVES Preparation process for honey harvesting Bee Hives 30 x (0.55 x 0.43) = 7 m2

remove outer cover

The hive tool is used to slice through the Propolis encrusted edges of the bee hive. The bees seal the hive to keep out sunlight and moisture.

remove inner cover

check frames in shallow super

remove shallow super

check frames in medium super

remove medium super

repeat for other hives insert bee escape panel above Hive Body

replace all removed components

calm bees with bee smoker

leave for 24 hours

Smoke is used to calm bees when the supers are being harvested. This ensures that the bees do not swarm or attack the beekeeper.

The principle behind this is to allow bees to exit the supers but not return to them.

repeat for other hives

after 24 hours

remove outer cover

remove inner cover

remove shallow super

remove medium super

replace inner cover and outer cover carry medium super to honey house

carry shallow super to honey house

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS Hive Equipment

C

03 Beekeeper Equipment

A Modern day bee hives. The optimal internal hive temperature is 33-35.5 degrees celcius while the optimal ambient temperatures ranges from 12-36 degrees celcius.

B Protective beekeeping suit for beekeepers C Mechanized vhoney extractor

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS KEY PERSONNEL

6 bee keepers 1 beekeeper to tend 5 hives

BEEKEEPER QUARTERS 400

Rest area 2.0 x 1.0 m = 2 m2 Toilet 2.5 x 2.5 m = 6.25 m2 Locker area 1.5 x 0.7 m = 1.05 m2 1800

1500

700

Bees are active nocturnally as well, thus at all times, a skeleton crew of 3 bee keepers must remiain on the farm to tend the bees. Simple lodgings will be furnished to accomodate the beekeepers.

03 AT THE HONEY HOUSE HONEY HARVESTING PROCESS Beekeepers work in pairs.

Holding tables 3 x 1.1 m2 Honey Extractor 0.95 m2 Wax Melter Tank 0.66 m2 Spin frames for 20 minutes.

The extractor has radius of 0.55 m and height 1.05 m. It can hold 20 kg of honey.

insert 8 frames into radial extractor 5 supers to be placed on a holding table

spin at high speeds until frames emptied

empty frames returned to supers

replace with next batch of frames

supers returned to hives

honey extracted is sieved

uncap a frame of honey comb with a hot knife Each table measuring 1.1 x 1.0 m can accomodate 6 supers. Each super contains 10 frames. The supers are stacked according to size (small / medium).

In the case of broken frames or spoilt honeycombs, they will be replaced in the honey house and the waste disposed in covered bins.

pure honey collected in 18L honey buckets

beeswax forms when heated wax cappings collected in melter tank

honey stuck on wax is drained and sieved

pure honey collected in honey buckets

This is done over a wax melter tank 0.55 x .1.2 x 0.56 m to collect the wax cappings for further processing.

Heat till 60 degrees C.

moved to storage room

let honey ‘sit’ for 24 hours

For every 10 hives worth of super, 12 honey buckets will be filled.

the wax is then melted and separated from slum gum slum gum is gathered and spread on trays

slum gum is taken back as feed for the bees

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS SPECIALTY STORE

03 AT THE PACKAGING AREA

Honey packaging process

after 24 hours

The bucket has a diameter of 0.30 m and height 0.44 m with a honey gate at the base

12 honey buckets processed at a time

place 6 buckets on a holding table

5 cm

The honey jars are glass and have a diameter of 5 cm. They will be packed in sets of 12 jars (0.20 x 0.15 m).

honey is bottled into 250mL jars

packaging and labels are added

once set, they can be removed from mold

packed into containers for storage

honey jars moved to storage shelves

Each shelf can hold 2 rows of 4 sets of 12 jars. (0.80 x 0.30 m) Holding tables 2 x 1.1 m2 Honey Bucket 0.71 m2

Beeswax packaging process beeswax forms when heated beeswax poured into molds

wick tab added if they are to be candles

5 x 8 cm shapes Holding shelves 10 x (0.9 x 0.4 x 1.8 m) = 3.6 m2

RESEARCH & ANALYSIS FREQUENCY OF ACTIVITY DIAGRAM

Monday

AM

Consumers

Tuesday

PM

AM

Honey Bees

Wednesday Thursday

PM

AM

Beekeepers

PM

AM

PM

Saturday

Friday

AM

PM

AM

PM

Less Activity

Sunday

AM

PM

More Activity

There is a constant rhythmn of rituals observed from the activities of the Consumers, Honey bees & Beekeepers.

Consumers visit the farm on a daily basis, for their breakfast lunch and dinner fix. On weekends, the numbers are much higher all throughout the days.

Honey bees are most active during midday, and do not alter their foragiing habits unless drastic weather conditions (i.e. rainfall) occur. There is activity in the hive 24/7.

Beekeepers do routine checks and maintainance on the bee hives and fruit orchard. Such activities occur during the periods where the bees are not actively foraging for food. It allows time for beekeeper to interact and mingle with the consumers during the midday period.

03 DAY ONE

PREPARATION OF BEE HIVES FOR HONEY HARVESTING

DAY TWO

24 HOUR WAIT REMOVAL OF SUPERS FROM BEEHIVES TO HONEY HOUSE

DAY THREE

DAY FOUR DAY FIVE

EXTRACTION OF HONEY PROCESSING OF HONEY DERIVED BY-PRODUCTS 24 HOUR WAIT PACKAGING, LABELLING & STORAGE

During the harvesting period, the process usually takes up a week from start to end.

ANNUAL RAINFAIL IN SINGAPORE (MM)

HONEY PRODUCTION RATE

The honey can be harvested about 4-5 times a year, depending on the weather conditions and availability of nectar.

Bees’ activity shares an inverse relationship with the average amount of monthly precipiation.

ONE DAY SKETCH / FORM PLAY

INTERNATIONAL STYLE

AEG TURBINE FACTORY ANALYSIS DIAGRAMS

Rectilinear forms Light, taut plan surfaces without ornamentation Open interior spaces Visual weightlessness via cantilever construction Use of glass and steel and R.C.

FORM

Made up of two rectilinear adjacent cuboid masses Column-free with high ceiling Big openings for ventilation Strucutral support as an exterior facade, as a stringent rhythmn

CIRCULATION

free movement around the main hall space

VILLA SAVOYE ANALYSIS DIAGRAMS FORM

Made up of a cuboid and a subtraction of a curved shape Areas subtracted for lighting, ventlation and circulation

CIRCULATION

extreme spatial dynamism use of circular staircase and ramps

ZONING Floor Circulation Ramp Ciruclation

Ground floor

First floor

Ground floor

Section

First floor

Second floor

Human Circulation

Ramp Ciruclation

Vehicular Circulation

Staircase Ciruclation

04 CONCEPT Drawing on the spatial dynamism from Villa Savoye, and inserting punctuations into the solemn and clean space of AEG Turbine Factory My intervention would be to insert living spaces in the working area to give a more exciting spatial experience. These living spaces on the ground floor serve as worker’s rest quarters.

While the spaces on the upper level have good vantage, allowing supervisors or higher management to observe the manner of work happening on both the primary and secondary areas of the factory

Residential spaces Factory spaces

ONE DAY SKETCH / WALL DESIGN

UOL EDGE GALLERY BY MINISTRY OF DESIGN The building is essentially understood as a series of L-shaped walls paired with interstitial vertical glass strips.

This alternating rhythm created multiple orthogonal edges.

The glass strips are intentionally turned away from oncoming traffic flow but still allow for view ports and entry portals to be introduced.

The rhythm extends to the elevation and section of the building and this allows for a dramatic lead up for the gallery visitor.

PARTIAL VIEWS FROM BUSY ROAD

The intention of my building is to mediate the tension between the users and the bees.

This wall detail attempts to create a boundary that is neither too open nor opaque.

The staggering of walls and gaps surrounding the bee hives breaks the strong visual connection.

This would create a safer space where people are not so vulnerable to the bees even at close proximity.

There will be a cabled trellis above the timber clad walkway that provides shade and a green buffer between the users and the bees.

This wall allows for more conducive viewing of bees and beekeeping activity going on.

DRAINAGE LAYER THERMAL INSULATION ROOFING MEMBRANE VAPOR RETARDER R.C. ROOF DECK

PARTIAL LIGHT FENESTRATION

PRECEDENT STUDY

FINISH FLOORING TREATED WOOD SLEEPER RIGID INSULATION WATERPROOFING MEMBRANE R.C. FLOOR SLAB

04

TIMBER TRELLIS STEEL CABLES GREEN BUFFER

EARTH DRAINAGE GRAVEL

DRAINAGE LAYER THERMAL INSULATION ROOFING MEMBRANE VAPOR RETARDER R.C. ROOF DECK

GLASS PANEL R.C. WALL SLABS

TIMBER DOOR

COLONNADES the flow of people & bees

PROPOSED INTERVENTION

BISHAN CONTEXT The site is located in a transition area betweem large commercial developments and medium high-rise residential blocks.

The Colonnade iserves as a mode where residents and shoppers can congregate at or transit through to another part of the site.

It seves as a one stop dining and immersive nature experience.

a

b

SITE ACCESS

05 c

a

a’

b’ b c’

PROPOSED INTERVENTION

GROUND FLOOR

05

FIRST FLOOR

COLONNADES the flow of people & bees

SECTION A-A’

ELEVATION A-A’

SECTION B-B’

ELEVATION B-B’

Tubular steel structure with net fabric infill encompassing the bees’ pollination space

Tubular steel structure with net fabric infill enclosing the human walkway

Turf on rooftop Sky lights

Roof Garden

Public gathering space with contours serving as benches

Beekeepers’ Rest House

Entrance of bees’ pollination space

Outdoor service path to hydraulic service lifts

Indoor Food Stalls Link bridge for production spaces Packaging area of honey products Bee Hives Honey House Public Washroom

Access to Beekeepers’ Rest House Speciality Store selling bee-derived products and souveniors Cafe selling hyper local honey products anf light refreshments Public Washrooms

Turf on rooftop Outdoor stalls selling food and beverages to go

BEES’ CIRCULATION BEEKEEPERS’ CIRCULATION CONSUMERS’ CIRCULATION

Loading Bay

05

Spider Clamp

Net Infill Tubular Steel Section

Flashing

Soil Fine Gravel Coarse Gravel

Steel Bolts

Waterproofing Membrane

R.C. Slab

Grass Cells R.C. Wall Slab

ENCLOSURE DETAIL

Load-bearing R.C. wall

ROOF GARDEN DETAIL

SECTION C-C’

COLONNADES the flow of people & bees