LONDON, May 19 — The installation, titled Gardening Will Save the World, will be on show at the upcoming RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London.
Gardening Will Save the World sets an experimental model for growing plants in the urban environment. The two-level garden will feature over 4000 plants, as well as a horticultural laboratory where hydroponic technology is implemented to grow hyper-natural edibles.
Visitors will also be able to immerse themselves in a raised garden, conceived as a canopy-like ecosystem of trees, flowers and plants with medicinal and environmental benefits.
“The ambition of our collaboration is to imagine the future of urban farming and to find solutions that can be used to grow plants and vegetables at home and beyond,” explained Tom Dixon in a statement.
The garden will then be donated to the British charity Participatory City, and moved to Barking and Dagenham in East London. It will stay there for at least three years—educating people on how they can contribute to the movement of growing food at home.
In parallel to the project, Tom Dixon is also developing prototypes for urban farming that will be available globally at Ikea stores in 2021.
“For Ikea, this collaboration is about challenging the way society looks at growing in general and addressing that it’s both possible and rewarding to have a place to grow your own plants in the city .... We need people to feel inspired to grow and harvest their own edibles within their homes and communities,” said Ikea Range and Supply Creative Leader James Futcher in an official statement.
This isn’t the first time that the Swedish retailer ventures into urban farming. In 2016, the furniture brand teamed up with Space10 to launch The Growroom—a spherical greenhouse that enables people to grow their own food in a local and sustainable manner.
“Gardening Will Save the World” will be displayed at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, running from May 21 to 25 in London. Additional information can be found here. — AFP-Relaxnews
