#HTE

IKEA’s Idealistic Open Source Garden Orb

Can you imagine growing your own food in a friendly indoor orb? Now you can, I guess, with help from futurist designers at IKEA and a local fabrication shop. The Grow Room is an idealistic product to make vertical gardening and localized food production a little more attainable. It was cooked up by Sine Lindholm and Mads-Ulrik Husumto at the IKEA idea lab Space 10. The room stands 2.8 x 2.5 meters, and as the name suggests, you can stand inside it.

The globular shape is intended to maximize sunlight and water access, while the minimal construction is aimed to make the Grow Room enticing to growers of all skill levels.

First iteration Grow Room

First launched as a conceptual project, the food orb got the attention of small footprint growers around the globe. Recognizing the contrary value of internationally shipping a product designed to localize production, they re-tailored the design for DIY fabrication, and released the blueprints free of charge.

Now the streamlined version of the “room” comes together with just 17 sheets of plywood, access to a CNC, a drill, and a few mallets.

As an unrepentant tree hugger, I absolutely love the idea of walk-in garden spaces and more sustainable food systems, but I have to raise a few eyebrows about the overall design. First of all, I appreciate the suggestion of the “friendly neighborhood fab shop” ideal but we’re not there yet and likely won’t be for longer than this type of project implies. (Is it just me, or do most cities with affordable small-run CNC access also have affordable local produce already?) Second, the idea that a sphere is a good idea for sun access leaves a bit to be desired, particularly since it is inexplicably designed for indoor use. Third, this thing is made from plywood, an accessible material but one I might not recommend for supporting heavy and regularly wet material. Like dirt. In short, I’m not sure why it’s a good fit for actual gardening.

The Grow Room is apparently already in use in cities as wide as Helsinki, San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, and Taipei. So they’ve clearly tapped into an interest, but if you offered me one I’d use it as a bookshelf (and still put houseplants on it, because it looks cool). I’d still rather have the 17 sheets of plywood though.