Mumbles sea hive project

Attracting sea life to concrete

Images courtesy of BlueMarine Cube Ltd

This low carbon, ultra-high-performance concrete is shaped to encourage natural shore life and support marine biodiversity. The Mumbles Sea-Hive features 13 flexible formwork textures used to cast the 50% GGBS concrete, including two tailor-made oyster shell textures.

After six months, periwinkles, limpets and up to 1,000 barnacles had colonised individual hexagons. The project was developed with residents and is part of the SEACAMS2 and ECOSTRUCTURE research projects to develop sea defences for Swansea Bay, Wales and beyond.