Melarium, or the experience of entering a beehive

This unique construction, where bees, scientists and nature lovers share space, is manufactured with ACCOYA® sustainable wood.

Melarium is a small summit of sustainable architecture. It is a functional, playful, respectful building, integrated with nature (animals and plants), and sustainable in both design and use.

As if this were not enough, visiting it is an unforgettable experience that is artistic (it is normal to observe it from the outside and go round it, like you would with a sculpture) and sensorial, as going into Melarium is going into a beehive and, practically, merging with the body of a bee.

This exceptional work, in a natural spot in the Dutch town of Delft, is constructed with ACCOYA® sustainable wood, which, in the words of its creator David Veldhoen, makes it “a resistant, isolated organism that breathes”.

Inside sustainable wood bee

The surface of Melarium (from the Latin melis, honey) has 4000 holes, a decision that is reminiscent of the fragmented eye of a queen bee. The interior takes its inspiration from the shape of the bee’s body, divided into three parts. The hives are located in one of them, with the bees producing honey.

A spiral staircase takes us to the roof terrace, designed to provide the same view a bee would have in full flight. Under the terrace and above the hives, there is a meeting space, where local beekeepers and scientists experiment and share techniques and discoveries.

ACCOYA®, modified wood with a 50-year written guarantee

The craftsman behind the project, David Vedhoen, was sure that Melarium required wooden cladding that could easily be built around a steel frame, and that would not need any maintenance. ACCOYA® acetylated wood was the material selected due to its resistance, durability, natural texture and special performance against moulds and insects.

Put simply, ACCOYA® will not rot or be attacked by wood-eating organisms, such as termites. One of the advantages of its acetylation process, which is completely natural, is that the cell structure of the wood is modified so the insect does not recognise it as food.

Qualities such as these are what make ACCOYA® sustainable wood one of the leading construction materials for the architects of the present and the very immediate future. Its performance is so spectacular that its manufacturers and distributors offer a written 50-year guarantee.