Edible Waiting Point

Edible Waiting Point

a project by Maria Gabriella Astolfo Alberto Elizondo Daniele Muscella

We have designed a piece of street furniture that aims to integrate vegetables growing in the city life.

It’s a waiting point with a street light where people can pass by, wait or meet, but it’s also a public edible spot, with a complete automatic system for the care of the plants.

Usually, people that live in the city never see a vegetable garden and see vegetables only on the shelves of a market or supermarket. In this way they can see the plants growing day by day and pick up vegetables when they’re ripe.

Vegetables sympathize with people.

They are both waiting for something.

The “pot� is specifically designed for medium-size vegetable plants, like aubergines, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, etc.

The waiting point serves as a shelter for rain. It also collects rain and stores it for watering the plants when they need it.

The rain water is not wasted: it goes inside a pipe, like a gutter, that filters it, and it’s stored in a tank inside the pot. The pump that will be activated when the soil is dry, will take the water from this tank.

The light sensor and the temperature sensor control light density and air temperature.

When it’s becoming dark or when it’s too cold they will activate some specific LEDs positioned under the display in order to give light and warmth.

The plants need certain amount of light. They also need a specific kind of light.

We suggest infrared and ultraviolet LEDs. On the shelter the white light LEDs are for illuminating the street.

The bus stop has a display to indicate the time of the next bus, it also indictates the next vegetable ready to be picked up!

thank you!

Maria Gabriella Astolfo Alberto Elizondo

Daniele Muscella

Interaction Design Lab II 2009–10

Gillian Crampton Smith with Philip Tabor

Spying on vegetables. Workshop with Yaniv Steiner.

25/01/2010 - 29/01/2010