Design of operable hydroponic plant shelves to be used as vertical herb or flower gardens in an urban context. The carrying devices can be produced with aluminum, bamboo, glass, or wood tubes; they provide shade, rain and wind protection when positioned in the facade of a building.
In collaboration with the Earth university, we are exploring the application of window farms or farm bags in the Central American tropical climate. A large scale urban application has been developed in the design of C.C.M.E.C., a proposal for a densified multifunctional urban core within the polycentric network system of Costa Rica's Greater Metropolitan Area.
A Central European application proposal for a residential building in the Rheinauhafen in Cologne, Germany was developed in the context of Garden Unique, the world's leading trade fair of high-end design products for the garden.
The image of the hydroponic plant installation is taken from City Hydroponic, a recommended source for do-it-yourself installations including information on hydroponic as well as areoponic systems, lighting, nutrients and fertilizers. The building design referenced in the urban context illustration is property of Foreign Office Architects, displaying the Carabanchel housing project in Madrid, Spain.
Credit
Oliver Schütte with Ronald Fonseca and Christian Castro.
San Jose, Costa Rica, 2011.