Jun 6, 2012, designcot

Gardening is one of the most productive activities one can enjoy during leisure moments and lucky are those who have lots of open space for that. However, if lack of space has been a problem for many living in congested cities running out of space, then indoor gardening and planters both, small and large, are great options to grow fresh vegetables and herbs in your balcony or walls. Indoor gardens are getting popular as outdoor space is scarce in populated urban cities. A great number of designers are seeking to suggest small indoor planters, which adds to the beauty of interiors too. Designer Philip Houiellebecq came out with a lovely planter design, which he calls “Auxano Hydroponic Vegetable and Herb Grower”.

Auxano  is not an indoor planter exactly and looks better hanged in your balcony. The idea behind designing Auxano is to enable the ever increasing amount of city dwellers to grow their own produce effectively and efficiently within the space constraints of city living. An innovative and practical solution which revolutionizes the current interior hydroponics market, providing very economical vegetable and herb growth rates through maximizing exposure to the commonly ignored natural resource in many city flats; sunlight. This has been achieved through the growing units being window mounted. Its innovative oxygenating pump system means no electricity is needed for the product to operate.

The root cradle slides out the top making the harvesting of the vegetable or herb an easy process. The roots freely hang down from the cradle into the nutrient solution below. This bottom section unscrews revealing the nutrient reservoir. Feeding the plant from underneath the product makes the process more efficient and mess free.

The nutrient solution needs to remain oxygenated to prevent it from stagnating. Auxano’s innovative pump system sets this product out from any other hydroponic grower. The user simply pushes the underlying rubber pump a few times a day releasing bursts of oxygen into the nutrient tank above. The oxygen is pumped into the nutrient tank through a simple one way valve system. Operating the airflow manually enhances the user interaction with the product and also removes the need to introduce electricity to keep the nutrient solution aerated; in turn further enhancing the products green credentials.

Thanks Designer Philip Houiellebecq (BA Product Design, 3rd year, at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Wales)

email