During this year’s Milan Design Week we got to meet with young American designer Danielle Trofe, who showed us the “Live Screen,” a vertical hydroponic garden design. Trofe was promoting her work as part of the Salone Satellite, which ran parallel to the Salone Internazionale del Mobile and involved hundreds of emerging young designers under the age of 35 from around the world.
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Taking inspiration from the idea of having an indoor living wall, Trofe designed the Live Screen to offer regular households a self-irrigating planter system. The screen features a series of small oval-shaped pods that branch off from a central trunk, concealing the irrigation pump that distributes water to each plant.
“The system uses vertical hydroponic technology which allows people to create their own urban gardening at home,” Trofe told Gizmag. “And the self-watering system makes the process of growing your own plants so much easier. Hydroponic gardening is also one of the most energy efficient and sustainable practices in use today.”
The vertical hydroponic system which is incorporated into the Live Screen adopts a simple method which nourishes plants without the need for soil. An energy-efficient pump distributes water from an internal water tank up to the highest plant tier. From there, gravity delivers water to the lower plant tiers. Clay rocks can be put into the bottom of the pods to protect the plants’ roots and since the system doesn’t use soil, many soil-borne diseases can be avoided.
The system also allows plants to grow faster and thus yield higher quantities, making it ideal for growing edible plants such as herbs. However, Trofe does insist that the system is capable of producing larger fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes and capsicums. In addition, the Live Screen offers users easy access to the water reserve tank, allowing them to to check water levels, test the pH or add nutrients to help keep the plants healthy.
The Live Screen is not only an innovative solution for urban gardening but would make a great piece of furniture for a variety of spaces including offices, cafés and living areas – offering interior greenery without the fuss.
The promotional video below illustrates how the Live Screen could work in the home.
Source: Danielle Trofe
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