英国布莱顿市规定在新建筑中使用“蜂砖”
Bee bricks become planning requirement for new buildings in Brighton

由专筑网清珂，小R编译

为了保护生物多样性，英国布赖顿-霍夫市通过一项规划法，法案要求在新建筑中使用特殊砖块，为独栖蜜蜂提供蜂巢。根据规定，所有五米以上的新修建筑都必须包含蜂砖以及雨燕的筑巢箱。蜂砖尺寸与普通砖块相同，但有许多适合独栖蜜蜂筑巢的小孔。目前在英国的约270种蜜蜂中，独栖蜜蜂约有250种，它们在自然生态中起到重要作用。

该项法案的倡议者表示，蜂砖属于城市中保护生物多样性的措施，其他相关措施还有增加植被、提供刺猬洞穴、雨燕巢穴、鸟类喂食器等经济又简单的方法，这些加在一起或许可以取得不错的中长期收益。除布莱顿市外，英国康沃尔市和多塞特市也采取了类似的政策。

英国一家生产蜂砖的公司表示，蜂砖中的孔洞模仿的是自然界中现存的一种独栖蜜蜂蜂巢。过去，独栖蜜蜂会在破旧的砂浆和砖块墙上筑巢，但是现代建筑太过于精确完整，所有的孔洞都被封住了。

A planning law introduced in the city of Brighton and Hove, England, calls for new buildings to include special bricks that provide nests for solitary bees. Brighton & Hove Council's policy stipulates that all new buildings above five metres should include bee bricks, as well as bird nesting boxes suitable for swifts. These bee bricks are the same size as regular bricks, but integrate a series of narrow openings like those where solitary bees are known to nest. The aim is to increase opportunities for biodiversity. With solitary bees making up nearly 250 of the approximately 270 bee species in Britain, they play an important role in the natural ecosystem.
"Bee bricks are just one of quite a number of measures that really should be in place to address biodiversity concerns that have arisen through years of neglect of the natural environment," said Robert Nemeth, the councillor behind the initiative. "Increased planting, hedgehog holes, swift boxes and bird feeders are all examples of other cheap and simple ideas that, together, could lead to easy medium-term gains," he told Dezeen.
Faye Clifton of Green&Blue, a company that manufactures bee bricks, said they recreate an existing type of nest that is popular with solitary bees, but which is becoming increasingly rare due to the precision of modern construction. "Solitary bees nest in crumbling mortar work and old brickwork," she said, "but modern buildings are so perfect that all the cavities are blocked.” "We're putting a habitat into each building in the same way that has occurred naturally for hundreds of years," she told Dezeen. "If these weren't put in, it would just be a closed wall. That's hundreds and hundreds of miles of land gone to any kind of biodiversity.”


蜂砖中有着蜜蜂可以筑巢的孔洞
Bee bricks contain holes where solitary bees can nest

潜在的健康威胁

不过，科学界对蜂砖的效果还存在分歧。一些科学家认为这些孔洞会吸引螨虫，增加疾病传播风险。苏塞克斯大学生物教学Dave Goulson表示，他在试验后发现这些孔洞太浅，无法为蜜蜂提供理想的栖息地，不过“聊胜于无”。他表示，如果认为在建筑中放入这些东西就能真正解决生物多样性问题，这无疑是自欺欺人，人们需要更多实质性的措施。另外，这类蜂砖很容易被开发商用作“绿色外衣”的噱头。

Scientists flag potential health hazards
Scientists are divided over the effectiveness of bee bricks in improving biodiversity, with some suggesting there are risks they could attract mites and increase spread of disease. Dave Goulson, a professor of biology at the University of Sussex, told The Guardian he had tested the bricks and found the holes to be too shallow to be "ideal homes for bees" but "are probably better than nothing”. "We are kidding ourselves if we think having one of these in every house is going to make any real difference for biodiversity," he said. "Far more substantial action is needed, and these bricks could easily be used as ‘greenwash' by developers."


Green&Blue的蜂砖与一位生态学专家合作开发
Green&Blue's bee bricks were developed in collaboration with an ecology expert

一个测试生物多样性的影响的契机

全球三分之一的粮食生产有赖于蜜蜂和其他授粉昆虫，但欧洲约十分之一的蜜蜂正面临灭绝。独栖蜜蜂面临的威胁更大，部分原因是大多数对蜜蜂友好的举措针对的是群居蜜蜂，如Snøhetta设计的伏尔甘蜂箱（Vulkan Beehives）和 Invisible Studio 设计的蜂房Beezantium。英国政府最近还取消了可杀死蜜蜂的新烟碱类杀虫剂的使用禁令，使得这些物种面临进一步的威胁。

Opportunity to test biodiversity impact
A third of the world's food production depends on bees and other pollinators, yet approximately one in 10 bee species in Europe is facing extinction.
Solitary bees are particularly under threat, partly because most bee-friendly initiatives are focused on honey bees. Examples include the Snøhetta-designed Vulkan Beehives and the Invisible Studio-designed Beezantium. The UK government also recently lifted its ban on neonicotinoid pesticides, which are known to kill bees, putting these species under further threat.