Bee’otopia is a radical art and design research project developed as part of the exhibition “Space Crazy” at The Utzon Center in Aalborg. During the summer of 2019, we explored the incredible creative power of nature’s master builders through design dialogues to build lampshades, enjoy the taste of honey, and harvest pollinated fruits and flowers.

The project investigates a natural design and production utopia, where design and production occur in a symbiotic relationship between designers and bees as we 3D print unique beeswax lampshades. The project challenges our contemporary globalized consumption paradigm, where resources are mined, treated, and shipped worldwide to support an unsustainable lifestyle. Can we imagine consumption that supports life in nature rather than destroying it?

What if we could grow our designs locally in a fruitful symbiosis with nature? What would our factories look like? What would the waste be? And could we reduce polluting transportation? These are ongoing conversations with children in the exhibition and around the hive placed in the flowery garden at the Utzon Center, as well as at various workshops during the exhibition. We dream about a world where design is built in nature together with nature.

The exhibition has led to a greater awareness of how things are made and where they come from. Additionally, The Utzon Center has planted beautiful insect-friendly flowers in their garden, inspiring Aalborg Municipality to enhance their focus on biodiversity in parks.