One of the top architecture prizes at the 2015 Milan Expo has been awarded to the Hive; the UK pavilion created by artist Wolfgang Buttress, engineers Simmonds Studio and architects BDP.

The team received the BIE Gold Award for Architecture and Landscape on the final day of the six-month international exhibition.

Since opening in May, more than 3.3 million people have been to see the 14 cubic metre (459 cubic feet) aluminium lattice structure, which was constructed and manufactured by Stage One using 115,000 individual components.

Visitors to the pavilion were taken on an experiential journey through the life of a bee colony, from an orchard and wildflower meadow into the hive itself. More than 1,000 LED lights were illuminated within the hive, which relayed information transmitted from a real beehive located 870 miles (1,400km) away in Nottingham, UK.

The experience highlighted the importance of pollination to ecosystems and food supplies.

Buttress responded to the BIE triumph saying: “It’s a fitting testament and acknowledgement of the dedication and professionalism of the whole of the team. If the project has raised awareness of the current plight of the bee then the effort has been worth it.”

The BIE honour is the latest prize to be handed out to the creators of the Hive. Five other awards have been won, including the Blueprint award for ‘Best Public Use Project with Public Funding’ and the Italian Association of Architects award for ‘Best Pavilion Architecture’.

This year the Milan Expo hosted 145 nations on an exhibition site covering 1,000,000sq m (10,763,910sq ft). The BIE Awards recognised the participants who best realised the Expo’s motto of “Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life” across several categories. The awards were presented by the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE).