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planter with sellaginella and moss growing on the surface

A clean and low maintenance hydroponic planter.

The structure of the material is solid, yet porous. Water is slowly diffused through it and is held by the cells, giving the plant time to drink, and allowing you to water less often.

plant roots grip the surface and become one with the planter.

A micro-texture designed for plant roots to grip the surface and become one with the planter.

The terraplanter is made from 100% natural materials & you can re-use with new plants anytime.

THE VISION. The core idea was to create a new home for plants. It needed to be simple, clean, low-maintenance and hydroponic - without the use of any soil or dirt. Combining the idea of hydroponics and the concept of porous material was the key. We created a proprietary ceramic material that has just the right amount of porosity and hygroscopic tendencies to allow water to diffuse through the material and allow the plant to grow on the surface of the material.

DESIGNING FOR PLANTS. We wanted to design a piece that was aesthetically beautiful but it also needed to serve a function; it needed to be a good home for plants. For this we needed to produce a complex shape for the surface of the terraplanter to meet the needs of the plants. It needed to:

Hold seeds on the surface while they sprout.

Hold water for plant roots to drink.

Provide a shape and texture that would allow plant roots to grip the surface.

We used parametric design to create the shape we envisioned and created several prototypes to test with seeds and plants. After testing we looked for ways to improve the product and refined the algorithm and design to get to the optimal solution for plants to thrive.

From nature-inspired design to design-inspired nature.
- Neri Oxman

HOW IT WORKS. The terraplanter is a vessel that acts as a water bank. The water is held in the vessel and is slowly diffused through the material to the cells on the surface for the plant to drink.

THE VISION. The core idea was to create a new home for plants. It needed to be simple, clean, low-maintenance and hydroponic - without the use of any soil or dirt. Combining the idea of hydroponics and the concept of porous material was the key. We created a proprietary ceramic material that has just the right amount of porosity and hygroscopic tendencies to allow water to diffuse through the material and allow the plant to grow on the surface of the material.

DESIGNING FOR PLANTS. We wanted to design a piece that was aesthetically beautiful but it also needed to serve a function; it needed to be a good home for plants. For this we needed to produce a complex shape for the surface of the terraplanter to meet the needs of the plants. It needed to:

Hold seeds on the surface while they sprout.
Hold water for plant roots to drink.
Provide a shape and texture that would allow plant roots to grip the surface.

We used parametric design to create the shape we envisioned and created several prototypes to test with seeds and plants. After testing we looked for ways to improve the product and refined the algorithm and design to get to the optimal solution for plants to thrive.

From nature-inspired designto design-inspired nature.

- Neri Oxman

HOW IT WORKS. The terraplanter is a vessel that acts as a water bank. The water is held in the vessel and is slowly diffused through the material to the cells on the surface for the plant to drink.