Bees move back onto Antilooppi rooftops to support urban biodiversity
This summer, real-estate owner Antilooppi’s sustainability work once again gets concrete wings. The beehives that have already moved onto the rooftops of four office properties support urban biodiversity and provide valuable research data on natural diversity in an urban environment.
Supporting the development of a sustainable urban environment is essential for Antilooppi, one of the largest owners of office space in the Helsinki metropolitan area. During the summer of 2026, Antilooppi is participating in the project in cooperation with the HumbleBee Housing Project, with the important goal of mapping the current state of urban biodiversity and promoting its development.
Antilooppi’s beehives have already moved onto the rooftops of four properties for the summer of 2026. The hives are located at Siltasaari 10, Ruohis urban block at Porkkalankatu 20, Elimäenkatu 5 and VERK, Sörnäistenkatu 1. Elimäenkatu 5 is included as a new location this year. As the summer progresses, each site will host around 50,000 busy honeybees pollinating nearby plants to support and study biodiversity. HumbleBee is responsible for maintaining the hives.
HumbleBee Housing Project, which is specialized in urban beehives, raises awareness about the pollinators’ importance, thus developing more sustainable environments for both bees and people. The project cooperates with the French bee laboratory Apilab to gather samples from the beehives for research into the local areas’ biodiversity.
Last summer’s results showed that urban nature around Antilooppi’s properties is diverse. On the Global Biodiversity Index, the four sites scored between 49% and 61%: three sites reached a level typical of an urban environment, while the best result received a good biodiversity rating. Based on the samples, the bees identified dozens of plant families in the areas surrounding Antilooppi’s properties, including cherry and plum trees, maples, willows, oaks and clovers.
“We operate in central Helsinki, and enabling an increasingly sustainable urban environment is an important part of our sustainability work. Supporting and promoting biodiversity is an essential part of this, and we want to contribute to enhancing biodiversity in the built urban environment. The beehives on our rooftops again this summer offer a new, concrete way to support the nature around us, and we look forward to seeing the project progress over the course of the summer,” says Chief Sustainability Officer Hannamari Koivula.
Rooftop bees working for urban nature
The bees inhabit one hive per roof at first. By Midsummer, the bees on each roof will be divided into two hives to keep hive sizes moderate and minimize the risk of swarming. On average, the bees will pollinate plants and flowers within a two-kilometre radius from their hives, providing valuable information about the state of urban nature. All summer long, eDNA samples will be taken from the tiny research assistants’ nectar, which researchers will use to analyse the area’s flora and its diversity from a bee’s perspective.
The project also includes a delicious extra element: during the summer, the bees will produce urban honey. Last year, the expected yield was around 100 jars per property, but the bees produced an impressive total of 700 jars, which were enjoyed during the winter at Antilooppi’s properties.
“The apiaries are one tangible way to support natural diversity. We’re delighted to offer our roofs for a research purpose like this. As a by-product, we get sustainably produced honey from our own roofs” Koivula says.
Images ©sssimone