Sir Ian Blatchford commissioned Marlène Huissoud to create a beehive to feature in a new permanent gallery at the Science Museum focused on the future of agriculture. Whilst doing some research for the new gallery, Ian came across a research project focused on the habits of bees and the reason behind their decline in population. When meeting with Marlène, who is not only a designer whose artistic outlook is rooted in the natural world, but also the daughter of a beekeeper, a beehive seemed like the obvious choice.

“Bees are on my mind, and when this London Design Festival opportunity arose, it seemed like a provocative and surprising idea to present a beehive to the public in the new gallery. You expect to see lots of machinery in a science museum but not something so profoundly organic.”, - Sir Ian Blatchford, The Science Museum