Plateau

Abstract

Biotope products are hermetically sealed environments with a plant inside and sufficient water and air to let the plant thrive. They water the plants for you so you don’t have to. However since biotopes products hold plants inside they are very difficult to transport, different from any other kind of product. The plants and soil have to stay contained to not spill all over the biotope, and during transport the plants may be cut off from light, be exposed to adverse temperatures and suffer drops and bumps. Plateau was designed with all the challenges it may face during its lifetime kept in mind. It is a straightforward biotope in the shape of a very narrow rectangular case which can be hung up as a living painting or placed on a flat surface. Its geometric form language contrasts with the organic plants inside and brings out the structure and beauty of the plants and even its roots on the other side of the glass. The product was embodied through an iterative design process going through many possible construction possibilities to get the desired design hermetically sealed. The final product design was chosen based on the finer details of its aesthetics, costs and the ease of assembly. In a parallel process the packaging was designed. The final design is of both a plant biotope and its packaging, which combine to make the product transportable. The design is fleshed out from production to assembly and is ready to be transported to shops and eventually the consumer.