With the collaboration of Jeroen van de Gruiter (Course Leader and Tutor); Metahaven – Vinca Kruk & Daniel van der Velden (Heads of the Master Program Geo Design at Design Academy Eindhoven)

In recent years, the Mediterranean region, particularly Southern Italy, has seen significant changes in its ecosystem due to climate change. Furthermore, centuries of migratory flows and the introduction of non-indigenous plants have shaped the entire ecosystem, contributing to the resulting loss of biodiversity. These plants, although flourishing in the wild and along roadsides, often fail to provide the pollinator-friendly flowers that local ecosystems rely on. Coupled with the increasing threat of rising temperatures and prolonged droughts, these factors have led to a concerning decline in pollinator populations. The neglect of green spaces in urban areas has only exacerbated the issue, as non-flowering plants dominate, leaving pollinators with fewer resources.

In response to this environmental crisis, an innovative project has emerged, proposing the use of artificial hives as new habitats for pollinators in urban and hostile environments. These hives aim to support pollinators by offering emergency food sources from specially cultivated flowers, designed to thrive even in the face of extreme weather conditions.

In this interview, we speak with Gigi Totaro, the mind behind this project, to explore his insights on the challenges facing pollinators in urban settings and the potential solutions that could help restore balance to these fragile ecosystems.

Simone Lorusso: Gigi, your work on pollinators in urban and hostile environments is especially relevant given the current ecological challenges. Could you share your background and what initially inspired you to take on this project?

Gigi Totaro: Hi Simone, thank you for the opportunity to have this interview.
I am a designer based between the Netherlands and Italy whose practice lies on product and conceptual design with a focus on materials and ecology. Besides my own design practice, I am currently starting the second year of my studies in the Master’s Program of Geo-Design at Design Academy Eindhoven, led by Metahaven.

This project was developed during the Applied Materials course led by Jeroen van de Gruiter, driven by the desire to create a project with a less anthropocentric and more holistic approach to the design discipline, understanding the complex relationships of the environment in which we live. From this premise, I wanted to delve deeper into an ecological issue, such as the decline of pollinators, on whom we humans depend for our survival as a species. The goal was to design products that are beneficial beyond human application and that could serve numerous species at once in contexts such as urban environments and unmaintained roadside areas.

SL: It sounds like the environment in these regions has changed significantly. Can you elaborate on how these changes are impacting pollinator populations?

GT: Southern Italy has been crossed for centuries by different cultures from around the world, which have contributed to the spread of both native and non-native plants throughout the landscape. Plants such as Agave and Prickly Pears originating from Central America or Oleander originating from Asia come to mind. Unfortunately, most of these plants do not provide useful nutrients to pollinators, and in some cases, they can even be poisonous, as with Oleander flowers. Additionally, in recent years, the increasingly long periods of drought due to climate change, followed by the use of pesticides in agriculture, have made the environment even more hostile to pollinators, leading to a drastic decrease in pollinator populations and biodiversity.

SL: That’s quite alarming. How do these challenges affect the broader ecosystem, and what solutions does your project propose?

GT: Drought and the loss of biodiversity in these territories are increasingly serious and tangible problems. When you deal with the consequences of these phenomena daily, you truly understand physically, emotionally, and visually what it means to live on such a fragile planet. The climate is becoming more tropical, and the amount of uncultivated or burned lands continues to increase, especially with the arrival of the hot seasons. In this context, it is important to understand the significance of a single flower or plant, seen as a micro-ecosystem, as it becomes an essential resource for countless different species, including humans. From a single flower, a chain reaction triggers problems at all levels of the ecosystem.

An example of the many more tangible consequences affecting the broader ecosystem are the economic problems that farmers are facing as fruit crops become increasingly scarce.

The project proposes a series of artificial hives aimed at improving the conditions of pollinators in urban spaces and hostile environments. Designed as new habitats where pollinators can thrive in dry and unmaintained areas, these hives provide pollinators with an emergency food source during times of scarcity through transformative flowers, meeting the challenges posed by drought and erratic weather patterns.

SL: Are your Apulian origins what sparked your interest in this subject, or is it just a coincidence?

GT: I believe that my origins definitely influence the making of all my projects. Puglia, like southern Italy in general, with its peripheral condition, represents for me a territory that is in some ways unexplored and has enormous potential from a design perspective. In this context, I strongly believe that the discipline of design, with all its nuances, can be an important driver of cultural, ecological, economic, and social development in different territories.

SL: The idea of artificial hives is fascinating. How do they work, and what makes them effective in these challenging environments?

GT: These hives are designed to host various species of pollinators, such as bees, bumblebees and butterflies. The source of nutritional sustenance is provided by an artificial flower attached to a small container. Inside it, the pollen is replaced by a sugary liquid made of water, sugar, and natural nutrients beneficial to pollinators. In this way, pollinators can obtain nutrients even when flowers are scarce in their surrounding environment. The design of this project is inspired by the competition between pollinators’ habitats and urban landscape elements, such as cars and metal guardrails. To make these objects even more attractive to pollinators, they are painted in colours, like yellow and lilac. My mission with this project is to expand the common understanding of what design can be, going beyond the finished object to include its disciplinary boundaries: in this case artificial hives become tools for designing a better future for our environment.

SL: It’s inspiring to see how your project not only addresses the immediate needs of pollinators but also reimagines urban spaces. How do you envision the future of this project, and what impact do you hope it will have?

GT: This project is still an ongoing investigation; at the moment, several prototypes have been made, and I hope to find funding or a commercial partner at an industrial or cultural level to further develop the project, it would be great. In any case, I’m really interested in collaborating on multiple levels and with people from different backgrounds. As designers we have the responsibility to propose reflections and identify alternative solutions to those taken so far. From this premise, I hope that this project can trigger various dialogues on very complex issues that closely concern us and can reach a wide audience.

SL: It’s clear that your work is making a meaningful contribution to both environmental science and urban development. Thank you for sharing your insights with us, Gigi. We look forward to seeing how your project evolves.

GT: Thank you Simone, it was a pleasure to have this conversation.