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Urban Farming: Gardening Will Save the World



 
Image Credit : Tom Dixon

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Project Overview

The latest collaboration between Tom Dixon's Design Research Studio and IKEA will explore sustainable, affordable and forward-thinking solutions for people to grow food and medicinal plants at home and beyond.

Organisation

Tom Dixon & IKEA

Project Context

Design Research Studio, Tom Dixon's in-house design and innovations agency, have partnered with home furnishings retailer IKEA to imagine the future of urban farming. As part of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2019, they have designed and realised an experimental model for growing plants in the urban environment.

Project Innovation

Divided into two levels, the garden will explore the contrast of the super-natural and technological to explore the future of growing.

The base garden is a horticultural laboratory where hydroponic technology is implemented to grow hyper-natural edibles. The raised garden is a botanic oasis with a naturalistic aesthetic and will encourage visitors to immerse themselves in a canopy-like ecosystem of trees, flowers and plants with medicinal, health and environmental benefits.

Tom Dixon’s Design Research Studio will explore sustainable, affordable and forward-thinking solutions for people to grow food and medicinal plants at home and beyond. The garden will showcase the potential for democratic and distributed urban farms and will consider the future of the environment.

Tom says: “Gardening is unique in its universal appeal and its transformational power. Without plants and more planting, we are all in trouble. Although we are not traditional garden designers, we think we can demonstrate ways that anybody could make a small difference and broadcast, not only the beauty, but also the functional importance of horticulture through both traditional knowledge and the latest in growing innovation”




Conceptual Design celebrates the projects that are yet to be realised. They are may be creative ideas, imagined future states or thought pieces intended to start a conversation. This category rewards the blue sky thinking that is needed to drive design forward.

All systems are designed to serve a purpose – and that purpose is to serve people. Systems design optimises systems performance by systematically focusing on the human component - human capacities, abilities, limitations and aspirations.


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