Byzantium – Babylonstoren, South Africa

For Babylonstoren, one of South Africa's most famous wine and estates, Kloosterboer realized the construction of Byzantium: an exhibition where visitors discover the fascinating world of bees.

Byzantium finds its origins in Beezantium, the permanent exhibition that Kloosterboer developed and realized in collaboration with design agency Kossmanndejong for the British estate The Newt in Somerset. Based on this successful concept, a renewed version was subsequently developed for the world-famous RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London.

The exhibition was fully pre-built in our workshop in Purmerend and was subsequently on display during the Chelsea Flower Show. Afterwards, the complete installation was shipped to South Africa, where it found a permanent home at Babylonstoren in the summer of 2025.

Inspired by the shape and structure of a beehive, visitors are invited to literally step into the world of the bee. The exhibition consists of a spatial installation of enlarged honeycombs, finished with a waxy coating.

Interactive elements bring the story of pollination, cooperation, and the fragile balance of nature to life.

Kloosterboer, with its own team and in collaboration with the Babylonstoren team, handled the complete reconstruction of the exhibition on site, including the installation of the audiovisual hardware.