As part of the Eyebeam OpenLab residency program, Rebecca Bray and Britta Riley have been working on a project called, Window Farms. Fashioned out of recycled and/or low-cost materials, the project calls for vertical gardens that use hydroponics to grow beans, tomatoes, and lettuce.
Designed with crowdsourcing and R&DIY (Research & Do-It-Yourself) in mind, the project is not meant to create a one-size fits all product, but rather a framework to further develop and refine the process. If urban agriculture is one the many necessary steps we’ll have to take to create sustainable cities, this is one way in which food production can be managed at a household or neighbourhood scale.
This is a great idea! And it’s aesthetically pleasing too!
That’s a good point Leesa, the key to integrating stuff like this into people’s daily lives relies fairly heavily on the aesthetics of design. With a project like this being designed through “crowdsourcing” though, I’m curious as to whether the aesthetic or functional design of the Window Farm gets further developed first. That is, with multiple people working who aren’t necessarily affiliated with one another, what’s the first thing that get changed? And, if for example the water bottles got changed out first (for bigger or smaller ones), would that decision have been made based on aesthetics or functional concerns?
WOW! I love this!!!! Thanks for the idea! This will help me in my promotion for Urban Agriculture :D Got more pics on your window farm project? :)