Speaking of insect architecture, a French company called Nidaplast uses honeycomb grids to solve problems both large and small. For 25 years they've been extruding polypropylene into a shape bees would recognize, and have been creating products that capitalize on the honeycomb's key quality: It's strong as heck.
In this quick, 30-second (non-English-language) vid, you can see workers laying down large blocks that are light enough for just two of them to lift—yet are strong enough to support the weight of cars and trucks.
These blocks, called Nidaplast EP, are 95% air. They're also an intelligent solution for road drainage: By digging a channel beneath the roadway and filling it with the blocks, you now have a massive void that can soak up a ton of water and slowly disperse it into the soil below. No more flooding.
