Spotted: Analysts expect that almost a third of the world’s population will still be cooking with polluting fuels in 2030. This is bad news for the environment, and threatens the health of those cooking in polluted spaces – a burden that disproportionately impacts women and girls in countries with developing economies.
Nigerian environmentalist and entrepreneur Tunde Adeyemi wants to relieve those burdens and improve the health and wellbeing of rural communities across the African continent. His solution is customised, portable biogas digesters that turn organic waste into electricity, clean cooking fuel, animal feed, and fertiliser. The Kitchen Box is the home solution, and the Bio-Tank is the agricultural version for smallholder farmers.
The digesters are not only affordable, costing one-tenth of current biodigester systems – enabled by artificial intelligence (AI) and produce biogas that is safe and emissions-free. Adeyemi’s company, D-Olivette, produces all parts of a biogas production system, from tanks and bags for transporting the gas to a biogas-powered stove. The digesters take 10 minutes to set up and come with a five-year guarantee.
The Kitchen Box is relatively small at 500 litres, making it suitable for use in diminutive kitchens and cooking spaces. Organic waste is emptied into the container where it ferments into biogas. Once the gas is combusted, it can power super-hot, clean cooking. The byproducts of the process are available for use as organic fertiliser.
The Bio-Tank works the same way and is available in a variety of capacities from 500 to 50,000 litres, and can be designed and sized to bespoke requirements. The tanks are suitable for fermenting farm and human waste, as well as byproducts from food industry businesses. D-Olivette also offers bags for storage and transport of the biogas, making it easy to share and sell the clean fuel.
The accompanying app uses AI to maximise use of the system for each owner and help communities earn carbon credits for emissions mitigation. To make the system easy to implement, D-Olivette offers training on the set-up and use of its biodigesters with every purchase.
D-Olivette recently won the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation by the Royal Academy of Engineering and has sold more than 4,000 units of the Kitchen Box. The digesters are currently available across Nigeria and Benin Republic, and Adeyemi plans to continue expanding availability of the systems to reach as many rural communities as possible.
Other biogas innovations featured in Springwise’s library include municipal and farming systems for transforming organic waste into fuel.
Spotted: Plant photosynthesis is limited by the amount of CO2, light intensity, and temperature. Plants typically convert just two to four per cent of available energy in radiation into new plant growth. This low efficiency has led to attempts to genetically alter plants to make them more efficient, which has provoked concerns over the associated risks to food security.
However, Malaysia-based agritech startup Qarbotech claims that its new product, QarboGrow, can enhance photosynthesis without resorting to genetic modification. It does this through the use of organic compounds with properties similar to chlorophyll. The startup’s product, QarboGrow, is sprayed onto crops, where it penetrates the leaf’s surface and interacts with chloroplasts. This interaction promotes greater energy transfer, helping to boost the rate of photosynthesis within a plant.
Qarbotech claims its nanotechnology-based solution can be used in-soil or on-plant, and can enhance the photosynthesis rate of plants by 30 per cent. This translates to a 30 per cent increase in plant growth, a 25 per cent reduction in crop growth cycles, and a 20 per cent increase in the sweetness of fruits.
The company recently announced that it has raised $700,000 (around €640,000) in seed funding, grants, and awards. Qarbotech will use the funding to strengthen research and development and expand its manufacturing facility to produce up to 50 times its current capacity.
Climate change and the growing global population are spurring a host of innovations aimed at improving agriculture. Recent developments that Springwise has spotted include a plan to make regenerative farming easier and cheaper to adopt and using bespoke bio-inoculants to improve soil health and reduce fertiliser use.
Spotted: Tennis is one of the most popular sports around the world, suitable for a huge range of ages and abilities. In fact, according to the International Tennis Federation, around 87 million people play the sport, with even more enjoying watching it on TV. Inspired by his personal love of the sport, Rich Neher founded Conga Sports in 2021, to support grassroots tennis and make it more accessible with innovative programmes and tournaments.
The organisation’s big flagship programme, called City Slams, involves teams of six (three men and three women) playing for their city and community, competing for “trophies and bragging rights”, as Rich explained to Springwise. Contrary to your average tennis match, Conga Sports makes fun a priority in its tournaments. For instance, the City Slams teams must come up with a creative group name, as well as dress in inventive costumes and perform a team song.
When Rich moved to the States from Germany in 1985, he was shocked by the lack of recycling. “At that time we already had a flourishing recycling environment in Germany (…) I came to this country and there was nothing. Even today, there’s very little recycling in buildings: the trash goes out and everyone throws everything in the same dumpster.” This same wastefulness is also reflected in the world of tennis – from equipment packaging, racquet strings, and most importantly, tennis balls. Rich highlights that 400 million tennis balls are used every year, with 200 million of those ending up in landfills.
To make tennis greener as well as more inclusive, all Conga Sports balls are sent to Vermont-based RecycleBalls for repurposing. After grinding them up, the balls can be used for various purposes, including for horse footing and new tennis court surfaces.
Rich also wanted to take sustainability to the next level, and partnered with One Tree Planted earlier this year. Through this partnership, Conga Sports has committed to planting one tree for every can of tennis balls used in its programmes. Although Rich emphasises that because Conga Sports is a young company and it’s limited in how many trees it can contribute, he hopes it can have a much bigger impact in future. “Our goal for 2030 – it’s a very ambitious goal I must admit – is to have planted 1 million trees. It’s a big goal, but I’m determined,” Rich told Springwise.
Springwise has spotted other ways innovators are making the sports industry less harmful to the planet, including by turning plastic water bottles into tennis accessories and using natural rubber to make greener wetsuits.
SIPs offer a huge productivity advantage that helps builders reach lower cycle times: building construction can happen at the same time as site development and foundation work. (With site-built construction, building can’t start until site development and foundation work are complete.) Then, once foundation work is done, you assemble the pre-built panels on site. It’s faster, creates much less waste, and there’s hardly any site restoration.
Builders using SIPs for high-performance enclosures typically see a 30% to 50% time savings over on-site construction, according to Rashkin. “Consider that the average days on-site for SIP construction is 65, compared to 95 days for stick framing,” he explained. “If costs are between $500 and $800 per day, shaving 30 days off your build time could translate to a savings of $15,000 to $24,000.”
Insulation against labor shortages
“Over 90% of builders and remodelers reported framing crew and carpenter shortages in 2022. On top of that, we have an aging workforce. The median age of US construction workers is 42, and the industry continues to struggle to attract younger workers. So, this massive labor shortage is almost locked in,” said Rashkin. Since the shortage is unlikely to be solved by an influx of workers, it needs to be addressed on the builders’ side.
SIP construction can help reduce labor shortages by eliminating the need for some trades, like framing, insulation, air sealing, and air barriers. It also reduces the scope of work for drywall, finishes, trim, inspections and testing, site clean-up, and waste removal (another large productivity bonus for SIPs versus conventional framing).
High-performance enclosures: better
“High-performance homes don’t only offer significant time savings for builders; they also result in a better quality enclosure,” Rashkin explained.
Moisture control
High-performance homes have more insulation, which can increase the risk of moisture control problems. First, added insulation raises wetting potential by increasing the temperature difference between the warm and cold sides of a wall. Second, it decreases drying potential by restricting air leakage.
“When building high-performance enclosures, we have so much more moisture risk that has to be managed, and we’re using materials and systems that are prone to quality control challenges,” said Rashkin. “This is a real problem when you consider that air leakage points in these tightly-sealed homes can create exponentially greater moisture flow than you’d see in a low-performance enclosure with widespread air diffusion.”
SIP construction is inherently better for minimizing moisture problems because it has ultra-low thermal, air, and vapor flow. “You’re taking the condensation problem out of the equation completely when it comes to moisture inside the construction assembly,” said Rashkin. “That’s a huge advantage for any builder.”
Air sealing
Air leakage represents significant potential for energy loss, disrupting the effective R-value of all the insulation you spent time and resources to install. Proper air sealing is the only way to get what you pay for from insulated enclosures. Plus, it helps protect the home from outdoor contaminants, like smoke and other air pollutants, and make the structure more resilient.
“I suggest aiming for a target air leakage level of 1.5 ACH50 or lower, a goal that’s readily achievable with SIPs,” said Rashkin. “SIPs optimize air tightness, automatically getting you to 1.5 ACH50 or lower. So you know you’ll reach your ACH50 target, no matter what your local code requires.”
Spotted: Mixed reality (MR) refers to technologies that create immersive computer-generated environments in which parts of the physical and virtual environment are combined. With potential applications that range from education and engineering to entertainment, the market for MR is forecast to record revenues of just under $25 billion by 2032. Now, in a ground-breaking partnership, Singapore-based company Mediwave is teaming up with Sri Lanka’s 1990 Suwa Seriya to deploy MR and artificial intelligence (AI) to create a fully connected ambulance.
1990 Suwa Seriya is Sri Lanka’s national pre-hospital emergency ambulance service, which boasts response times that surpass even some services in developed countries. The innovative ambulance it has deployed uses Mediwave’s integrated Emergency Response Suite, which combines the latest communications equipment with internet-of-things (IoT) and AR capabilities to enhance the efficiency of the emergency response eco-system.
The connected ambulance ensures swift response times and digitises critical processes, while specialised care can be provided remotely through a Microsoft HoloLens. The technology enables Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) – staff who man ambulances in Sri Lanka – to connect with physicians at the Emergency Command and Control Centre. These physicians help the EMTs provide care during the so-called ‘golden hour’ of medical emergencies – the concept that rapid clinical investigation and care within 60 minutes of a traumatic injury is essential for a positive patient outcome.
In addition to connecting EMTs with doctors, Mediwave’s system also employs an AI-powered transcriber to digitise Electronic Patient Care Records. This minimises human error and reduces delays once the patient reaches the hospital.
Other applications of extended reality in the Springwise library include holograms that are used to train doctors, virtual environments for treating phobias, and an augmented reality contact lens.
Spotted: Concrete is the second most-consumed substance in the world behind only water, and this popularity comes from its remarkable characteristics as a building material, which include strength, durability, versatility, and economy. However, it comes at a heavy environmental cost, with UK company Cemfree highlighting that the ubiquitous material currently accounts for around 25 per cent of the UK’s ‘embodied carbon’ from construction – the carbon emissions associated with building materials and construction processes.
To tackle the climate impact of concrete, Cemfree uses a proprietary Alkali-Activated Cementitious Material (AACM) to completely replace Portland cement (OPC) in concrete mixes. Typically, OPC is used to bind together the other concrete ingredients, including sand and aggregates, and is the main component that determines the overall properties of concrete infrastructure.
However, despite its usefulness, OPC is incredibly energy-intensive to produce. To make OPC, limestone is heated to temperatures as high as 1,450 degrees Celsius in huge kilns, which results in around one kilogramme of CO2 being emitted for every kilogramme of cement.
Cemfree’s AACM binder activates ‘pozzolanic’ materials – materials that acquire cement-like characteristics through chemical reactions – such as Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS) and Pulverised Fly Ash (PFA). Both of these substances are waste products, the former from steelmaking and the latter from coal-burning. The company’s binder reacts with GGBS to form a solid mass that is comparable to, and can therefore replace, OPC.
This technology forms the basis of three products: the company’s original Portland cement alternative, Cemfree Optima, as well as two follow-on products Cemfree Rapid and Cemfree Ultra. The company’s materials have already been used in a wide range of projects from a railway station to the Thames Tideway, with Cemfree’s staff working in collaboration with project experts to deliver a process that meets the project’s particular demands.
Concrete is a classic ‘hard-to-abate’ industry and Springwise’s library contains a range of innovations tackling concrete’s climate impact. These include electrified cement production, the use of AI to design out excess concrete, and an AI platform for optimising concrete recipes.
New planning legislation that aims to boost biodiversity in development projects will come into effect in England in January. Here, Dezeen explains what architects need to know.
What is biodiversity and why does it matter?
In this context, biodiversity usually refers to the variety of all species living within a certain area or ecosystem, including plants, animals, insects, bacteria and fungi.
Each species in an ecosystem has its own impact on the environment, affecting the availability of clean water and air, soil condition, pollination and other food sources and resources. Variety is necessary to keep all these elements in balance, maintaining a stable and resilient world for humans to survive in.
Many parts of the world are experiencing rapid biodiversity loss as a result of phenomena caused by human activities, such as pollution, climate change and habitat destruction. A Queen’s University Belfast study published earlier this year found that 48 per cent of the world’s animal species are experiencing population decline. The Worldwide Fund for Nature claims we are witnessing the sixth mass extinction event in the Earth’s history.
“We live in a time of mass extinction, where an alarming number of species are disappearing and where the impoverished ecology of the planet is having a detrimental effect, not only on our climate emergency, but also on pollination and in the production of food,” Adam Architecture director Hugh Petter told Dezeen. “It is a powder keg.”
Adam Architecture’s work includes Nansledan, an extension to the British city of Newquay that is being designed for the Duchy of Cornwall. The studio says it will surpass the new biodiversity net gain rules by adding “habitat ‘units’ of around 24 per cent and an increase in hedgerow ‘units’ of around 48 per cent”.
What are the new rules?
Construction can be a major cause of direct biodiversity loss, and the new planning rules for England aim to address that. They mandate that new developments deliver a “biodiversity net gain” – that is, a measurably positive impact on biodiversity compared to what existed before.
Specifically, the legislation requires developers to deliver a biodiversity net gain of 10 per cent. To calculate this, the UK government has produced a formula called the “statutory biodiversity metric” for counting what it terms “biodiversity units”, which are gained through work to create or improve natural habitats and lost through building.
As they strive to meet the 10 per cent requirement, developers must prioritise enhancing biodiversity on-site. If they cannot meet the threshold on the site being developed, they will be allowed also to make biodiversity gains on other plots of land, including by purchasing biodiversity units from other landowners.
As a last resort, they must buy “statutory biodiversity credits” from the government, which will use the money to invest in habitat creation. Biodiversity gains delivered must be maintained for a minimum of 30 years by whoever owns the land, bound by legal agreements.
Once planning permission is granted for a project, the developer must submit an evidenced biodiversity gain plan to the local planning authority (usually the council), which will approve it or refuse it. Development can only start once the biodiversity gain plan is approved. If the developer then fails to act in line with their biodiversity gain plan, the planning authority may take enforcement action.
The legislation was initially intended to come into effect for large developments of more than 10 dwellings in November, but that was pushed back to January 2024.
Smaller sites will also be subject to the new rules from April 2024, while major infrastructure projects will have to comply from late November 2025.
What do architects and landscape architects need to know?
Architects and landscape architects will likely play a leadership role in ensuring that projects deliver on biodiversity requirements, working with ecologists and the authorities.
The most important thing, says Petter, is to understand the importance of biodiversity loss as an issue.
“The more architects can take a proper interest in the subject, the better placed they will be to work with the spirit of the new legislation and to think of imaginative ways that the minimum standards can be exceeded,” he said.
“It is crucial to engage with an ecologist as soon as possible,” added RSHP sustainability lead Michelle Sanchez. “It is also beneficial to evaluate the site as soon as you gain access.”
“This enables you to develop your designs based on the existing level of biodiversity, tailoring your strategy to local flora and fauna you particularly would like to support,” she said.
One thing to bear in mind is that the new rules aim to prioritise avoiding biodiversity loss in the first place.
“Avoiding biodiversity loss is the most effective way of reducing potential impacts, and it requires biodiversity to be considered at early design stages,” the guidance states.
To gain planning permission for a project that does cause biodiversity loss but proposes strategies to replace it, developers will need to explain, with evidence, why avoidance and minimisation is not possible.
Will this actually help to boost biodiversity?
The rules will mark the first time biodiversity enhancement has been a planning condition in England. According to University of Oxford researcher Sophus zu Ermgassen, it represents “one of the world’s most ambitious biodiversity policies”, but the exact impact is not yet certain.
But Sanchez is broadly optimistic. “Developers were not inclined to consider biodiversity enhancement in the past,” she told Dezeen.
“Only on projects attaining sustainability certificates such as BREEAM would biodiversity targets be discussed. Even then, it would sometimes more regarded as a tick-box exercise rather than an opportunity to make the building better and more appealing and to reduce the environmental impact that architectural projects have on the planet.”
However, she has warned in an opinion piece for Dezeen that a 10 per cent net gain on its own “is not enough to be able to reduce the negative impact that our way of life has had on biodiversity”.
Spotted: The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Plastic Action Partnership (GPAP) brings together more than 400 member organisations to build a circular economy and replace single-use plastics. With time running out for us to make the necessary changes to our damaging reliance on plastics, advocates for change continue to emphasise the multi-faceted approach needed to build a solution. Organisations in every sector must work creatively and quickly to reduce their use of virgin, and any, plastic.
In Australia, fashion brand Aciae works to the Circle to Zero principle that strives to eliminate waste from every step of its production processes and contribute to the overall reduction of global plastic pollution. The company’s name is Latin for thread and refers to its practice of turning single-use plastic waste into the thread that’s used to create its machine-washable, waterproof, recyclable shoes. Gathered plastics are cleaned, shredded, and then melted down for extrusion. The extruded fibres are then spun into thread, completing the transformation of trash into fabric.
Aciae works with a number of organisations to source its plastic-based threads, including Repreve Our Ocean, for a line of designs that uses ocean-bound plastics. Aciae’s shoes come in a range of styles and colours, all of which are machine-washable and fully recyclable at the end of their life. That circularity helps Aciae close its production loop and make strides towards its goal of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2030.
As well as providing the fashion industry with an example of ways of working that reduce waste, Aciae also turns a global scourge into something useful while lessening reliance on virgin materials. The brand highlights design for durability, repair, and disassembly by making recycling at a product’s end-of-life an integral part of the initial creation of each pair of shoes. As part of the Australian Fashion Council, Aciae is helping guide the Council’s Seamless Stewardship programme, which seeks to reduce the country’s volume of clothing waste.
Springwise’s library also showcases other methods of using recycled plastics for new products such as home construction materials and eyewear.
As part of our review of 2023, Dezeen’s design and environment editor Jennifer Hahn has rounded up 10 of this year’s most significant material innovations, including bricks made from toxic soil and a 3D printer for wool.
Over the last 12 months, designers found new uses for bacteria, using the microorganisms to colour textiles, grow a leather alternative and turn plastic waste into vanilla ice cream.
In architecture, researchers continued to reinvent concrete, with some using algae instead of cement as a binder while others rediscovered the secret to “self-healing” Roman concrete.
Energy efficiency was an ongoing concern in light of the recent energy crisis, with projects such as water-filled windows and colour-changing cladding aiming to passively heat and cool buildings without relying on fossil fuels.
Read on for Dezeen’s top 10 material innovations of 2023:
Photo courtesy of Water-Filled Glass
Water-Filled Glass by Matyas Gutai, Daniel Schinagl and Abolfazl Ganji Kheybari
One of Dezeen’s best-read stories of the year looked at how researchers from Loughborough University combined two ubiquitous materials – water and glass – in a new and innovative way.
As the name suggests, their Water-Filled Glass windows consist of a thin layer of water wedged between two panes of glass, which can reduce a building’s energy bills by around 25 per cent compared with standard glazing.
That’s because the water absorbs warmth from sunlight and heat loss from the interior that can then be diverted to help heat the building, while also limiting solar heat gain in the warmer months.
Find out more about Water-Filled Glass ›
Photo by Sun Lee
Colorifix by Orr Yarkoni and Jim Ajioka
Synthetic biologists Orr Yarkoni and Jim Ajioka have developed a way of colouring textiles using bacteria in place of toxic chemical dyes which is already being used by mega-retailer H&M and experimental clothing brand Vollebak (pictured above).
Their Colorifix technology uses bacteria that is genetically engineered to produce different colour-making enzymes, creating a dyestuff that is compatible with the textile industry’s standard dye machines.
Crowned material innovation of the year at the 2023 Dezeen Awards, the technology offers a scalable alternative to chemical dyes while using 77 per cent less water and producing 31 per cent fewer carbon dioxide emissions, the company claims.
Find out more about Colorifix ›
Photo by Sem Langendijk
Claybens by Emy Bensdorp
At Dutch Design Week, designer Emy Bensdorp presented a series of bricks made using clay contaminated with PFAS – toxic “forever chemicals” used for water- and fire-proofing, that can leak into our soils and waterways.
In the Netherlands, where PFAS can be traced in up to 90 per cent of soils, developers and landowners must now legally take responsibility for this contaminated soil, which ends up being hidden away and left to gather dust in depots with little prospect for the chemicals’ removal.
Bensdorp discovered that firing the clay into bricks at high temperatures can eliminate these highly durable chemicals while turning the soil from a burden into a useful building material via an existing industrial process.
Find out more about Claybens ›
Photo by Mael Henaff
Guilty Flavours by Eleonora Ortolani and Joanna Sadler
Central Saint Martins graduate Eleonora Ortolani created a bowl of vanilla ice cream that she believes might the world’s first food made from plastic waste.
The ice cream was made by taking a small amount of PET plastic waste and breaking it down using genetically engineered bacteria to create synthetic vanillin – the flavour molecule in vanilla.
Originally developed by researchers from the University of Edinburgh, the process produces a flavouring that is chemically identical to vanillin derived from crude oil, which is commonly sold in stores. The only difference is that it uses a recycled instead of a virgin fossil feedstock.
Find out more about Guilty Flavours ›
Images courtesy of Hsu Group
Electrochromic cladding by the Hsu Group
Researchers from the University of Chicago have developed a “chameleon-like” facade material that can change its infrared colour – the colour it appears under thermal imaging – based on the outside temperature to keep buildings cool in summer and warm in winter.
The composite material appears yellow under thermal imaging on a hot day because it emits heat and purple on cold days when it retains heat. This colour change is triggered by a small electrical impulse, which either deposits copper onto a thin film or strips it away.
“We’ve essentially figured out a low-energy way to treat a building like a person,” said materials engineer Po-Chun Hsu. “You add a layer when you’re cold and take off a layer when you’re hot.”
Find out more about this electrochromic cladding ›
Photo courtesy of TFT
Flocks Wobot by Christien Meindertsma
Dutch designer Christien Meindertsma has opened up new uses for the wool of European sheep, which is too coarse to form textiles and thus often discarded, by developing a custom robot arm that acts much like a 3D printer.
The Flocks Wobot connects layers of the material through felting to create three-dimensional shapes without the need for any kind of additional binder.
So far, Meindertsma has used the robot to produce a sofa – currently on display at the V&A – but in the future, she claims it could equally be used to create everything from insulation to acoustic products.
Find out more about Flocks Wobot ›
Photo courtesy of Loop Loop
Local Colours by Loop Loop
Dutch design studio Loop Loop has developed the “world’s first plant-based aluminium dying process”, using bio-based pigments instead of ones derived from petroleum.
The Local Colours project adapts the traditional process of anodising, which involves using an electric current to oxidise the metal, creating a porous surface that is able to absorb colour before being dipped into a water-based pigment solution.
So far, the studio has created four different solutions – a deep pink made using madder root, a bright gold produced with red onion and a warm purple and mustard yellow derived from different flowers.
Find out more about Local Colours ›
Photo by Dave Burk
Bio-Blocks by Prometheus Materials and SOM
Colorado start-up Prometheus Materials has developed a “zero-carbon alternative” to concrete masonry blocks that is bound together using micro-algae instead of polluting Portland cement, which accounts for around eight per cent of global emissions.
The company is working with architecture studio SOM to explore applications for the material, with a dedicated installation at this year’s Chicago Architecture Biennial taking the form of a giant spiral.
“This project demonstrates how product development, design, and construction can come together to address the climate crisis in a meaningful way,” said Prometheus Materials president Loren Burnett.
Find out more about Bio-Blocks ›
Photo courtesy of Modern Synthesis
Modern Synthesis by Jen Keane and Ben Reeve
Modern Synthesis has developed a plastic-free leather alternative that drapes much like cowhide but could generate up to 65 times less greenhouse-gas emissions than real leather, the British start-up estimates.
The material is made by bacteria that is grown on a framework of threads and fed with waste sugar from other industries, which is converted into a strong, lightweight material called nanocellulose.
Danish fashion brand Ganni has already used the material to create a version of its Bou Bag (pictured above) that was revealed at the London Design Festival and could be commercially available as soon as 2025.
Find out more about Modern Synthesis ›
Image via Pexels
Roman concrete by MIT and Harvard
This year, researchers from MIT and Harvard made headlines when they discovered the secret ingredient found in “self-healing” Roman concrete, which they are now aiming to bring to market.
The ancient recipe that has allowed structures such as the Pantheon (pictured above) to remain standing for millennia integrates quicklime instead of the slacked lime found in modern concrete, the scientists have posited.
As rainwater runs through the cracks that form in concrete over time and touches the quicklime clasts in the concrete, this creates a calcium-saturated solution that recrystallises to “heal” the fissures.
Find out more about Roman concrete ›
2023 review
This article is part of Dezeen’s roundup of the biggest and best news and projects in architecture, design, interior design and technology from 2023.
Spotted: Bees pollinate 70 of the 100 main human food crops, making them essential to the global food supply chain. Yet two human actions, the application of pesticides and the destruction of insect habitats, have put the world’s bee population in a precarious state.
Bees are struggling against a variety of factors, including new and more rigorous bacteria and viruses, and the global spread of intensive farming practices – all of which combine to affect their overall population health. Now, French company Oligofeed has created a dietary supplement to help bees improve their health by increasing their resilience against environmental changes.
As habitats for pollinators have shrunk, insects must rely on fewer varieties of plants and less food overall. This leads to an internal deficiency in certain microelements. Those elements help strengthen bees’ immune systems, making them more able to withstand environmental pathogens.
Oligofeed’s patented bee food is all-natural, non-toxic and leaves no traces in honey. The antioxidant properties of the microelements in the feed help strengthen bees’ natural immunity, thereby helping them fight off a variety of diseases and mites. Although, the Oligofeed team emphasises that the supplement is meant to be used as part of a beekeeper’s health regime for hives, not as a replacement for anti-mite treatment.
Designed as a preventive treatment given three times a year during the seasons when bees are not pollinating, the food is mixed in with a sugar supplement. The supplement is given in syrup form during spring and autumn and as a patty during the winter. When tested on different subspecies of bees across four countries, the food revealed no side effects and no toxicity and by improving the general strength of a beehive’s health, also improved overall honey production.
Oligofeed’s product is not yet commercially available, although beekeepers interested in trialling the food can get in touch to take part in further field tests.
Springwise’s library includes a number of ways in which technology is helping bees complete their essential work of pollinating crops, from supporting them via electric vehicle pollination to supplements that encourage pollination of a more diverse set of crops.
