home garden
PROBLEM
OPPORTUNITY The availability of fresh vegetables should not be limited by the amount of space or money that a person or family has. This is an opportunity to bring the garden system indoors by focusing solely on the essential elements that make a successful garden. In addition, an indoor gardening system has potential to offer an educational experience for both the parents and children while keeping the users engaged, invested and informed. The indoor garden will need to be affordable, energy efficient, thrive on traditional planting methods, and sustainable materials.
Phoenix, AZ has had it’s licks in the past with Urban Sprawl and the U.S. housing market crash of 2008. Now as the economy has slowly recovered, local developers and city leaders are thinking proactively; the city of Phoenix, is no longer expanding horizontally, but growing upward. This is evidence that the economy is recovering. However, local lots being used as community gardens for low income communities are now being pushed out to make way for new apartment buildings and facilities.
Paul Coseo
Kara Mauser
Courtney Romley
Landscape Architecture
Kyrene De La Estrella Elementary School
Arizona State University
Assistant Professor
Pre-K Special Education Teacher
Program Manager
Arizona State University
INTERVIEWS
Child Development Laboratory
According to Paul Coseo, urban development in
According to Kara Mauser, bringing gardening into the
According to Courtney Romley, kids learn by doing.
Phoenix, AZ is evolving; by building vertically rather
classroom would encourage more kids to engage in
At an early age, keeping instructions and tasks simple
than horizontally. So if someone wanted a garden they
science. Seeing something grow overtime and being
will likely keep the kids engaged with any activity.
may look to rooftop gardening. However, with the
able to eat it, gives the students a sense of ownership
Gardening is a good way for kids in the developmental
harsh sun and inconsistent weather, this can have a
and accomplishment. The school has gone as far as to
stages of childhood to understand cause and effect.
negative effect on the plants and the materials holding
incorporating gardening into the curriculum.
the plants.
OBSERVATIONS
Kyrene De La Estrella Elementary School
Design School Roof Top
Interaction
Modular
Kids love interacting with the gardens. Having a separate
The square shape allowed for horizontal placement but
vegetable in each pot allowed the kids to observe how
was not favored because it took up a lot of space.
vegetables and herbs grow. The height of the pot was the perfect size for kids to interact with and for adults to facilitate. Material
Interaction
24” tall fiberglass bins were used as pots to hold the
I found that rooftop gardens are great, however the
vegetables. However, the material attracted heat which
space is limited and sometimes light is limited if other
heated up the soil damaging and sometimes killing the plant.
buildings are blocking the sunlight.
Modular
Material
It was observed the making the pots small and
This injected molded material was great for making modular
consistent shape allowed for the users to adjust the
shapes but was easily broken down under the Arizona
placement of the pots based on their surroundings.
sun and heat.
MARKET RESEARCH Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Bounty Elite
Click & Grow Indoor Smart Fresh Herb Garden
PRICE: $419 USD
PRICE: $59.95 USD
PRO: The Bounty Elite by Miracle-Gro is a tough
PRO: The Click & Grow is an easy to use product
competitor. This product allows you to grow
only requires an outlet and water. This product
vegetables, flowers and herbs quick and easy. Each
from KICKSTARTER, uses LED’s for lighting,
plant has it’s own designated seed pod which depends
a self-watering system and a patented nano-
on the hydroponic growing method. The LED light bar
technology called “Smart Soil”. The Click &
is adjustable and the touch screen guides you through
Grow is small, compact and that’s really about it.
step by step on how to keep your plants productive and healthy.
Dimensions:
CON: “Smart, simple, carefree” as stated by
17.25 x 11.25 x 15-34 inches
CON: Based on negative reviews, the product works
Mattias Lepp, the founder and CEO of Click &
Dimensions:
Grow. Based on reviews, the Seed Pods with it’s
great but is likely to stop working after a few months.
11.8 x 4.7 x 11.1 inches
“Smart Soil” technology” flopped. The product
The LCD, lights and water circulation system stop working. The hydroponic system, which has proven to
is also very limited in what it can grow. The
be a tempermental method all together, contributes to
“not-so-smart, not-so-simple, and be-careful”
the plants withering and dying.
Click & Grow is limited and poorly made.
SKETCHES & PROTOTYPING
Accessibility It was imporant to build a full scale prototype to get a sense of scale. The models both proved that adults and children would need to be able to access the pots for watering and harvesting. Foot Print The foot of having four 24” deep pots took up no more than two large trash cans. Four 24” deep pots offers enough space to plant numerous types of deep rooted and shallow rooted vegetables and herbs. Fun Kids seems to engage in something that is easily reachable and not overly-complicated.
FEATURES & FINAL MODEL SOIL The soil will be enriched by the worm castings over time.
FOOD SCRAPS Food scraps like banana peels,
coffee grounds, coffee filters, and other organic table scraps, excluding meat and bones, will keep the worms alive and happy.
RED WORMS Red worms will devour the
scraps and wet newspaper to produce castings to help enrich the soil.
WET PAPER The wet paper will help the
worms acclimate to their new environment.
Composting Worms
WORM TOWER CAP SOIL
WORM CASTINGS The worm castings will make
it’s way into the soil. The worms will stay in the tower since they cannot survive in the soil.
LIGHT BUTTON
MOISTURE SENSOR
ON/OFF
Located on the face of the planter, this push button turns on and off the main LED light.
The moisture sensure is powered by a 9v batter and can be replaced at anytime.
WORM TOWER WALL PLANTER WALL
MOISTURE INDICATORS These LED indicators take information from the moisture sensors to give the user and idea of whether or not the plants need water.
MOISTURE SENSORS
AURDIUNO
9v BATTERY
OPTIMUM MOISTURE
FULL SPECTRUM LED
Light Indicator & Moisture Sensor
Different plants require different types of light. Red and Green light are commonly used for growers. This light is controlled remotely by the arduino device located in the sensor panel shown to the right.
MOISTURE SENSOR VIEW OF BACKSIDE
MOISTURE SENSOR
OF SENSOR PANEL
SOIL
NEEDS WATERING
simple
MOISTURE SENSOR
Custom Fit The circular shape of the planter gives the user a unique option to customize their garden to fit their living space. You can build as wide and high as you’d like.
SIDEWALLS & CONNECTORS
Easy Assembly
1. The Sidewalls are designed to sit flush to each other.
IND 360: Fall 2017 Industrial Design III
2. The connectors are designed to fit into the pre-
3. This set up requires little to no tools and the
drilled slots to interlock the walls together.
connectors provide a secure fit.
Student: Brian Skeet Instructor: Roozbeh Valamanesh