Books & Magazines : Art & Design Theory
Hives: A Visual History of the Beehive
Aladin Borioli
$32
Since the birth of the modern beehive in 1852, structural innovation in hive construction has entered a dormant period. By favoring the standardized box hive, beekeeping turns its back on the 4,400 years of architectural diversity that came before.
In an attempt to rectify this stagnation and to recover a fascinating fragment of design history, Aladin Borioli has maintained an open-ended and ongoing research project, Apian, which uses theoretical, iconographic and ethnographic methods to dissect the relationship between bees and humans. Originally published by RVB Books in 2020, this pocket-size, bilingual (English/French) artist’s book traces archival evidence of the beehive from as far back as 2400 BCE. Borioli rejects a fixed narrative and makes way for polymorphism: introducing graphic design, photography and writing to retell the story of beehives. The 375 images offer a glimpse into this prolific history of architecture for nonhumans.
Details
Hives: A Visual History of the Beehive by Aladin Borioli / ISBN 9782492175718 / small 448-page paperback with 375 images, 4.25 x 6 inches, published by The Ice Plant & RVB Books (France) / text in French/English (there is not much text) / Essay written by Ellen Lapper and Aladin Borioli, Graphic design by Nicolas Polli
2026 reprint!
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