Climate change is a hot topic (pardon the pun).
In an effort to bring the environment to the forefront of people’s minds, one garden designer has created an installation that aims to showcase our ‘fragile relationship with nature’.
The Hothouse, as it’s named, is a tiny glasshouse that will pop up in Stratford next month as part of the London Design Festival.
The brainchild of Tom Massey and Studio Weave, an architecture firm, this miniature humid landscape features a plethora of exotic fruits that are not local to the UK – such as guava, orange, chia seed, avocado, mango, lemon, pineapple, loquat and more.
There’s a special meaning behind the choice of plants; you see, currently it is not hot enough to grow these in Britain, however scientists have pointed out that climate change could soon change this.
The current rate of greenhouse gas emissions – which makes the Earth heat up – could see us growing fruits like guava in our backyards come 2050.
To make matters worse, scientists predict that ‘air quality levels could be five times worse, crop yields could decrease by 30% and temperatures could be rising towards a 4C increase by the end of the century’.
All in all, not great news.
The Hothouse will be in place at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for one year with the hopes that it will show the ‘beauty of plants and humans’ adaptability, ingenuity and ability to overcome problems and create safe and stable growing environments for plants from all over the world’.
The choice of location carries meaning too, as this area was known for growing plants, flowers and fruits (like grapes) in 1,300 acres of greenhouses during the 1930s.
The Hothouse plants will be housed in a gorgeous clear structure that passers-by can enjoy, however they won’t be able to go inside – or sample any of the fresh treats.
This is an educational installation, after all.
Besides, we have a feeling those fruits would be gone very quickly, if allowed.
In other nature-meets-design news, the world’s largest urban farm, dubbed Nature Urbaine, has just opened in Paris.
The 14,000 sq m space features 30 species of plants, such as tomatoes, strawberries, aubergines, radishes and basil – some of which are grown through the help of aeroponic farming (essentially releasing a mist of nutrients, as well as utilising rainwater for the produce).
It forms part of a mission to make Paris greener and offer sustainable farming solutions.
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