Liam Maddern-Wellington

“The Hive”

This building has been designed to accommodate the students and staff of the OEP, prioritising the faculty’s focus on its strong and collaborative community spirit, flexible course structure and passion for sustainable outcomes.  The Hive aims to enhance these elements through its design and implement a ‘regenerative’ form of sustainability; actively improving the environment in which it is located.  Specifically, to achieve this the building focuses on the concept mutualistic symbiosis, natural partnerships where all parties benefit.

The Hive seeks to create a perfect nest for its OEP colony, providing essential learning and delivery spaces for their core subjects, both collaborative and quiet study areas for the students and a large central conservatory which acts as a multipurpose event, dining and study space for the faculty to use.  In addition to this however, the building has a secondary function of acting as an urban meadow, providing a home and year-round food supply for native bees.

The stand-out ESD feature is the façade which is a modular system of green-rooves, green-walls, beehives, solar panels and glazing. It comprises an engineered timber frame with hexagonal modules which covers the contrastingly functional internal building like and organic second skin.