What does Officinanove have that’s new under the sun? How about a lesson from the busiest of bees, buzzing the day away under God’s gorgeous blue in pursuit of that unit of geometric perfection known as the honeycomb. Whither bees follows honey. Just so, the Italian manufacturer’s latest foray into organic imitation is called “Honey-Way,” and its way into the metaphorical honey of superlative design is a modular, self-replicating species of bookcase, its six-sided silhouette modeled on the comely honeycomb.

Honey-Way. Designed by Officinanove.

A Rapturous Rainbow amid the Buzzing of Bees

Designed by Bedini_Raco_Settimelli, Honey Way is the latest in a long line of innovative uses for this, one of nature’s most excellent shapes. The hyperbole is owed to the honeycomb’s surprising nexus of comely aesthetics and sublime symmetry, as in the three-dimensional form found amid the bees, not only is the structure strong, soundproof, and lightweight, it also articulates a cozy little living space in each of its innumerable cells. Now, Officinanove isn’t necessarily suggesting you could move in to one of these miniature, modular storage units, but, if so taken, you might be able to curl up for a nice nap.

Not that that would have been likely last April, when Honey-Way debuted at Salone with a bee-themed exhibit that included a gigantic honeycomb of Honey-Ways, resplendent in yellow and black and complete with the piped-in buzzing of the aforementioned busy bees. The display definitely did much to further the theme, as helpful Officinanove reps reminded passers-by that the bee theme did not necessarily have to follow Honey-Way into the home. The manufacturer offers the modular steel bookcases in customized combinations, a virtually limitless proposition given Officinanove’s exhaustive catalog of 190 colors. Honey-Way is available in open or closed-cell form (with hinged and perforated covers for individual modules). And just like the resilient bee, it can adapt to nearly any space—floors, walls, ceilings, and corners.

Via InteriorDesign.