I have been contacted by a Dutch member who wants to make himself a Rose hive.
If I understand correctly, the key issue with the Rose hive is not the hive design per se but the beekeeping system that you use. One could really do the Rose hive system with any hive's bodies. Still, it may be an idea to maintain roughly the same foundation size per box as the Rose hive does.
As far as I can tell, these foundation sizes should be accurate:
Rose:
335 mm x 160 mm = 0.107 m2 per frame
12 frames = 1.29 m2 per box
Dutch Simplex (honey frame):
350 mm x 140 mm = 0.098 m2 per frame
10 frames = 0.98 m2 per box
So, if the Dutch beekeeper should try to use the Rose method using Dutch simplex honey boxes, it would be like using Rose hives with 9 frames instead of 12. In my opinion this would be the best option, even though the box is almost a quarter of the size smaller.
Dutch Simplex (brood frame):
350 mm x 220 mm = 0.154 m2 per frame
10 frames = 1.54 m2 per box
9 frames = 1.37 m2 per box
8 frames = 1.23 m2 per box
So, if the Dutch beekeeper wants to use a box that has roughly the same foundation size per box as the Rose hive, then he could use Dutch simplex brood boxes and simply use 8 frames instead of 10. However, this will mean that the boxes are "taller" and "narrower" than the Rose system, and I'm not sure how that would affect the Rose system's intended regular and rapid expansion of the brood nest.
The reason why the Dutch simplex has so much less foundation for roughly the same box dimensions is because the frames have longer ears (4 cm on either side).
Samuel