Palazzo delle Api, 2018
Luserna granite
160 × 144 × 144cm

Palazzo delle Api is an autonomous object on the crossroads of art, architecture and ecology. It can be seen as a public sculpture, a monument, as well as an architectural solution for insects.

Palazzo delle Api reflects the principles of Metabolism, the Japanese architectural movement of the 60s, which combined the ideas of urban megastructures with the concepts of organic biological growth. Inverting the principles of Metabolism, Adrien Missika is giving them back to fauna.

Made solely out of Luserna granite, locally sourced in Piedmont, this insect-scaled architecture satisfies the housing needs for thousands of pollinating insects. About 2000 holes drilled on the edges of the stone slabs allow the accommodation for different insect species.

Erected like a spaceship in the middle of a biodynamic agricultural complex, Palazzo delle Api unites the notions that might be perceived as extremely different and stands as an example of the harmonious existence of nature and humankind.

Palazzo delle Api is located in La Raia, a wine yard and biodynamic agricultural complex in the heart of Gavi, it was commissioned by Fondazione La Raia and curated by Ilaria Bonacossa.