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NY Design Week 2011: Boskke "Sky Planter"

By Jamie Hall - May 15, 2011

in Sustainable Design | NYCxDesign

Boskke's "Sky Planter" wall

Although we spotted these before, in terms of "eye catching," the Boskke "Sky Planter" wall, (above) dominated the ICFF Design Boom exhibition hall. Simple and stark, the Boskke inverted planters dangled down exotic orchids, ferns and edibles, offering up natural beauty—even in a crowded convention center.

Boskke, which means "small forest" in old English; boasts of the Sky Planter's ability to offer plants and greenery without sacrificing much-needed urban floor space. While floor space is of dire importance to most urban dwellers, the other benefits of indoor gardens aren't too shabby, either—air purification and improved health are always good.

The upside-down design also conserves water by avoiding evaporation and drainage water-loss, feeding the plants gradually at the roots and filters air impurities. All that, and it still looks way better than a traditional potted Ficus.

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Rob Irwin

13 years ago

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I understand the value-add function that such objects play in the role of peoples lives and how such fun designs create a happy and healthy environment. What upsets me as a fellow designer is the endless rattle about how some thing does this, and that and the other, when in reality these "features" are so infinitesimally small and ubiquitous that to mention them at all is a magnanimous stretch of reality that plays up the marketability of which the functional performance of said product is at best mediocre.

The solution of hanging the planter off the ground to rid the space otherwise taken up by a regular pot/stand is fine, but to claim that the air purifying factors actually make a difference within a space is to say that by parking 2' closer to the street and away from my home, thus not expending the extra gas it would take to pull up to my "normal spot" is reducing my neighborhood's carbon emissions.

Further, the claim that this design conserves water by avoiding evaporation and drainage water-loss is also such an incremental improvement and I would go so far as to say a bogus claim. Again, the amount of water that "evaporates" off of any unabsorbed water after feeding is equivalent to drinking one less glass of water a month.

Come on. Really?!

"...it's not about incremental change, it's about transformation!"
- Henry Ford -

Pushing the boundaries of design and thought isn't about creating a pretty picture. It's about creating prosperity through innovation and collaboration.

...and innovation isn't turning a planter upside-down.

Kindly,
Rob

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