How a brick is transformed into a building habitat for bees

Can a building material provide a shelter for lonely bees even in the heart of the urban fabric of a metropolis? The answer to this environmental question, with many implications for modern life, was attempted by scientists - researchers of the Polytechnic School of the Democritus University of Thrace (DUTH), creating an innovative building product, namely a brick, capable of providing a natural ecosystem for the development and hatching of solitary bees or pollinator bees and at the same time a modern building material for «green» masonry.

This innovative brick was successfully tested in the modern laboratory «Reinforced Concrete and Earthquake Resistant Structures» of the Department of Civil Engineering of DUTH and was presented for the first time during a special event organized by the MOHA research center at the historic hotel Imaret, in the old town of Kavala, which was attended by representatives of local institutions and several beekeepers.

A shelter for lonely bees

«The ultimate goal of the research effort and the innovative brick that we constructed and experimentally tested is that it should be a safe building material for load-bearing walls and also serve as a shelter for bees, where they can shelter and lay their eggs», says Konstantinos Chalioris, Vice-Rector of Economics, Planning and Development of the DTH, professor of the Department of Civil Engineering.

Today there are more than 20,000 species of pollinating bees worldwide and only seven of them produce honey. In Greece there are 1,150 different species of bees. In recent years there has been a dramatic decline in the total bee population. This is due to many factors, such as the greater use of toxic chemical pesticides, climate change, fires and urbanisation, which is a major driver of negative impacts on biodiversity.

The bee's contribution to the preservation of life

Bees are today responsible for the continuous production of the evolution of life on the planet. It is worth pointing out that 75% of the world's major crops are based on pollination. Without bees there would be a huge reduction in the growth of plants and thus food supplies.

Aiming to save these bee populations, scientists - researchers from the departments of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the Faculty of Engineering of the DUTH in Xanthi and from the Department of Physics of the Faculty of Sciences of the DUTH in Kavala, constructed an innovative brick as a habitat for pollinator bees, which at the same time can be a building material suitable for the creation of load-bearing masonry.

An innovative product friendly to bees

This type of brick has holes of various calibres, in which bees can find shelter. Speaking to APE-MPA, Halioris points out that this innovative product is in the next experimental stage, stressing that «the aim is to study whether these species of solitary bees will approach the brick to act as a shelter. From the research we have done so far on the form we believe this is feasible and achievable. However, it remains to be proven through additional research in collaboration with entomological researchers from the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Forestry at the University of Thessaly. Because we may know a lot about the organised societies of bees in hives, but we know very little about solitary bees acting as pollinators.».

«The brick», continues Mr. Chalioris, «is made of natural materials, absolutely friendly not only to the environment but also to the bee. It contains no chemicals or cement. Lime and geotextile mortar were used, materials that simulate the natural environment of the bee.».

This natural brick is self-cleaning to avoid bee diseases, has a small carbon footprint, so it does not harm the environment, while the manufacturing and curing process is carried out entirely without any heat treatment. Most importantly of all, what makes this product truly innovative as it changes everything we know about conventional building methods, is that it can be used as a load-bearing brick in organised construction, as part of a creative architecture.

Turning a garden into an urban shelter for bees

The ultimate goal is for structures made of such bricks to become an innovative natural building habitat for pollinator bees. The effort was initiated by the concern of some academics and the awareness of some private individuals for the protection of the environment and especially the rescue of the solitary bee threatened by the ecological crisis with all that this implies for the maintenance of the delicate balance of ecosystems. In this context, the MOHA research centre is implementing the MiEL project, taking a step towards the creation of a bee-friendly environment.

As MOHA President Anna Missirian underlined during the event, «following the transformation of the gardens of Imaret and the Mohamed Ali Museum into urban bee sanctuaries, with bee-friendly crops and practices, MOHA aims to attract more public gardens, institutions and individuals to adopt creative proposals to understand, appreciate and protect one of the most precious creatures on our planet. The construction of this innovative brick by the TIF is indeed aimed in this direction and significantly supports the effort being made.».

Margarita Pournara, journalist of Kathimerini, was responsible for the presentation of the event.