IGIYE by Probuk Studio Blends Architecture with Aeroponics to Encourage Urban Farming

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With 65% of its components made from recycled waste plastic, IGIYE is designed with a focus to mimic the sustainable lifestyle of a tree, able to function like an organic object thereby creating nourishment and aesthetics.

Designed by Fatade Francis, an architectural designer and founder of Probuk Studio, Igiye is a seamless blend of aeroponics, (a process adopted by NASA to grow food in space using mist instead of soil ) and architecture, which the designer refers to as “Archiponics”.

ARCHIPONICS is the design of a space to grow food-crops using aeroponics in a way that complements the aesthetics and function of the space”

Fatade Francis

Francis started this groundbreaking approach 4 years ago at his apartment in Nigeria, during a season when tomatoes seem to be a problem in Lagos, Nigeria. The system functions and operations include the following:

  • Controlled from a mobile device (Phone or tablet) via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth using easy user-friendly designed android and IOS application with features like, Light spectrum control, Light intensity control, Water level indicator, PH, EC, etc.
  • Ability to recharge, itself after several mist cycles using a miniature turbine generator and lithium- ion cells for power storage.
  • Accommodating 20 crops, the trunk serves as the place to plant the desired crops (spices, vegetable, herb) where the roots are misted with the right combination of water, nutrients and oxygen.
  • Multi-directional flexible and adjustable branch- like LED light pod attachment at the top providing require lighting for effective photosynthesis and lighting for the space it occupies.

Igiye takes away the bulkiness and hassle of a convectional aeroponics system thereby maximizing its efficiency, shrinking it down and concealing its mechanical components in a way that does not look intimidating in our homes. In a world where our food lifestyle is constantly questioned and over 85% of our daily activities are controlled via our mobile phone, this same technology would see the user of this product able to grow consumable plants indoor thereby providing ready-to go nourishment.

“Imagine working into your home and you stand a chance of eating freshly grown, handpicked vegetable for dinner right in your home”

The world is looking towards a sustainable food lifestyle, since we are currently exploring Mars as a new possible home for humans. The design moves along the new thinking where Aeroponics is the future for agriculture. Using a self-powered system, the device will encourage indoor home-grown edible plants like we us to have back in the old days when we had backyard farms.

The captivating part of this device is not just the design, but its ability to scale up. Within the home it serves as a functional and aesthetically pleasing object that provides nourishment and lighting for both space and plants, while in the urban context, when the device is used in groups, it offers a forest-like ambiance and oneness with nature.

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