This hydrophonic aquarium + planter takes care of itself

Do I wish I could take part in the mentally soothing, environmentally beneficial practice of gardening? Absolutely, but as a known plant killer, I can only admire my peers’ mini-gardens from afar. The Eva hydroponic fixture offers neglectful plant owners a no-effort solution in which the plant cares for itself – by merging an indoor garden with an aquarium!

The Eva planter creates an environment in which the plants can survive without human help. How? By creating a symbiotic relationship between the fish and fauna that live inside it. The fishes produce ammonia as a waste product, which can become toxic in large amounts. As it happens, ammonia contains nitrogen, which is necessary for photosynthesis and helps with plant growth. In the garden above, the roots break down the ammonia, and the resulting waste product, nitrites, then become food for the fish. Simply put, it’s the circle of life — with only two organisms.

Additionally, Eva includes light fixtures that mimic natural sunlight. This is not a new feature — we’ve seen it on similar planters — but it contributes to Eva’s mission: to sustain life in any indoor environment. It allows everyone to flex their green thumbs, even if their living spaces seem less than ideal for plant life.

Designer: François Hurtaud

 

How to design sustainably: Use an agricultural waste and rice composite as your material!

Sustainability has now been extended to kitchen utensils as well! Product designer François Hurtaud created a collection of back-to-basics kitchen utensils crafted from eco-friendly materials. Deemed Yootensel, the collection consists of a kitchen knife and a vegetable peeler.

Both the Yootensel Kitchen Knife and Peeler boast stainless steel blades. However, their handles are far from the usual. Created from a composite of agricultural waste and rice, the handles are completely eco-friendly, safe for humans, animals, and the environment. Recyclable and reusable, the combination of agricultural waste and rice is high on the sustainability quotient. Grapevines, unusable vegetables, date palm fronds could be some instances of the agricultural waste being used, with the rice acting as a binding agent. The lower end of the long stainless steel blade is then encompassed by two panels of the composite, with grooves embossed to hold the entire structure together, forming the handle. Abandoning plastic and metal, the all-natural handle possesses an ergonomic form, with dimensions that allow us to hold both the knife and peeler firmly yet effortlessly in our hands. While holding the handle, its unique structure distributes the force employed by us, ensuring that the blade does not bend nor break.

Silver winner of the 2019 European Product Design Award, Yootensel is a range of durable, recyclable and eco-friendly kitchen tools that not only puts our needs first but the needs of the environment as well!

Designer: François Hurtaud

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