The Hive — Attraction in London

The Hive at Kew Gardens is a striking and immersive art installation that offers visitors a unique sensory experience inspired by the life of bees. Here's an overview of what you can expect when visiting The Hive:

Structure and Design The Hive is an impressive 17-meter tall structure made from 170,000 aluminum parts and 1,000 LED lights. Designed by UK artist Wolfgang Buttress, it stands as a visual tribute to Britain's honeybees and was originally created for the UK Pavilion at the 2015 Milan Expo before finding its permanent home at Kew Gardens.

Sensory Experience As you approach The Hive, you'll walk through a beautiful wildflower meadow specially planted with 34 native species that appeal to bees. This journey mimics the path a bee might take to enter a hive.

Once inside, you'll be immersed in a multi-sensory environment:

Sound: A symphony of orchestral sounds fills the air, accompanied by buzzes and pulses. The audio is triggered by vibration sensors in a real beehive at Kew, creating a dynamic soundscape that changes based on the activity of the live bees.

Light: The 1,000 LED lights glow and fade in response to the real-time activity of the bees, creating a mesmerizing visual display.

Movement: As you move through the space with other visitors, you might feel like a bee in a colony, responding to the movements of those around you.

Educational Elements The Hive serves as an educational tool, highlighting the crucial role of bees and other pollinators in our ecosystem. Informative signs along the path provide interesting facts about bees and their importance. There are also bone conductor booths where visitors can experience different vibrations made by honey bees, such as queen piping and the waggle dance.

Visitor Experiences Many visitors find The Hive to be a powerful and moving experience. Some describe feeling hyper-stimulated yet calm, constantly discovering new visual interactions between the metal, glass, and sky. Others appreciate the allegorical nature of the installation, feeling as though they've entered the world of a bee.

While most visitors are impressed by The Hive, experiences can vary. Some find it breathtaking and amazing, while others may not feel as connected to the concept. However, the majority of visitors seem to find it a unique and thought-provoking installation.

The Hive at Kew Gardens offers a truly immersive experience that combines art, science, and nature, providing visitors with a new perspective on the vital role of bees...

Okay, I have heard a lot about this exciting art installation from the press. So perhaps I was approaching it with high expectations than I should have.

The structure itself is quite impressive. Intricate lace work of metal and perspex. This is intended to give the feeling of being part of or indeed inside of a beehive. Unfortunately in this respect it was somewhat disappointing. It neither gave me the impression of a beehive or indeed the feeling of being inside one however it did give a great sense of what you could achieve with a giant Meccano set.

Being able to look up to a perspex floor to the people standing above you or something that quite interested some younger members of the public sending their girlfriends to stand above them I'm taking photographs from beneath. I don't think this was entirely the effect the artist was trying to achieve.

Nevertheless there was still something of an architectural Splendour in the construction of this installation. Well I would not recommend people travel specifically to see it, as part of a day out it is perhaps worth visiting just for...

Artist Wolfgang Buttress collaborated with Dr Martin Bencsik, BDP architectural practice, Hoare Lea engineers and Simmonds Studio to create this giant lattice of aluminium rods, on two layers, with a transparent floor between, filled with speakers and LED lights. It's connected by wire to a real beehive, and energy sourced from the real movement of the bees is amplified to power a light show (in the evening) and a "soundscape" played by a musical ensemble. It's supposed to highlight the decline of the honey bee, and it does, but it's also fun to clamber over for visitors of all ages. Honey made in the park (and other bee-themed merchandise) can be bought in...