Honey Harvest 2023
November 10, 2023
Studio Gang Chicago
Since 2017 we have hosted two (now three) beehives on our rooftop “sky island,” and each year we partner with the Chicago Honey Co-op to collect surplus honey from the hives to share among our offices and friends. With the Co-op’s guidance to ensure ethical and sustainable harvesting practices, we harvested nearly 90 pounds of surplus honey this year, while leaving ample honey in the hive to eat throughout the winter.
The act of building relationships between people and the environment is central to our design approach, and the honey harvest on our rooftop is one of the ways our Studio gets closer to and learns from nature. It is one part of our rooftop’s living laboratory that helps support biodiversity and inspires us to imagine new ways of engaging with urban green roofs.
Studio members and guests remove the white cappings from the honeycomb before the combs are spun in a centrifuge to collect the honey.
Studio members and guests remove the white cappings from the honeycomb before the combs are spun in a centrifuge to collect the honey.
Studio members and guests remove the white cappings from the honeycomb before the combs are spun in a centrifuge to collect the honey.
Studio members and guests remove the white cappings from the honeycomb before the combs are spun in a centrifuge to collect the honey.
Studio members and guests remove the white cappings from the honeycomb before the combs are spun in a centrifuge to collect the honey.
Michael Thompson from the Chicago Honey Co-op gives the team a demo of the honey extractor, which helps draw out the honey.
After extraction, the honey is filtered and packaged for sharing among our offices and friends.
The team collected over 75 pounds of surplus honey this year, which takes over 100,000 bees to make over the course of the year.
The team collected over 75 pounds of surplus honey this year, which takes over 100,000 bees to make over the course of the year.
The team collected over 75 pounds of surplus honey this year, which takes over 100,000 bees to make over the course of the year.