Designing for non-humans: Koloni Insect Hotel by Edvin Klasson

What super concrete activities can we do to help actually enjoy preserving bio-diversity ?

Among several challenges we are facing, insect death is a big one: without insects all food production would cease as we know it, and all life on earth will be deeply affected. These days insects are steadily diminishing in numbers, due to pesticides and modern forestry.

However, one part of the solution is very actionable and involves diving into the wonderful world of the flower and the bee:

For this year’s Milan exhibition we went together with designer Edvin Klasson to propose our first project intended for a non-human lifeform. The result is Koloni - an architectural hatching shelter for pollinating insects.

The Koloni concept is based on a notion that catering for non-human members of the biosphere should be an integral part of every modern building, as self-evidently as ventilation, water and electricity.

The hotel is designed as a “prefab” to fit onto the facade of any existing building - be it a villa, a cabin or a large public building. A simple design, it is made from a single piece of solid pinewood perforated with holes of several different sizes. The wood is nestled in an aluminium house, which gives both the wood and the inhabitants some protection from rain.

Very durable and almost endlessly recyclable, Aluminium seems like the perfect choice for this product. It can also be painted, galvanzied or anodized to fit into any type of environment and building, blending in or standing out as you like.

(Norwegian aluminium manufacturer Norsk Hydro kindly helped us out in producing the Koloni prototypes.)

Mounting Koloni will be easy and can be done directly on a flat surface with 1-2 screws. After some years of service the wooden kernel will wear out, and can be replaced with a new component..

To be sure to get “tenants” for the hotel, it it should be placed on a surface facing the sun - and you should make sure there are plenty of flowering plants and trees.

Are you interested in setting up Koloni for your own garden, your appartment building - or at your workplace? Or do you have other ideas about how to find places, caretakers and collaborators to make this happen?

Get in touch at post@elementa.no or give us a call at +47 21380402

Pollinating hoverfly. “Helophilus pendulus” Photo by B. Schoenmakers at waarneming.nl. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=61126831

Koloni Insect Hotels by Edvin Klasson: