Professional Practice
Seeds of Innovation: Floating Planter Box Competition
Date: 8/4/2022 - 8/25/2022
Type: Competitions / Awards
Description:
Help us create a floating planter box for indigenous communities in Louisiana impacted by environmental injustice. The floating planter boxes should support the Grand Bayou Tribe members to grow fresh produce and medicinal plants in a coastal setting. Great designs are people-centric and meets their needs through function and style.
Food safety: Most crucially, the plants grown have to be edible. Food safety should inform decisions on material choice, water storage and filtration mechanisms, and contamination prevention.
Resilience: Living on the water involves living with environmental extremities, from flooding, tidal changes, rainfall, saltwater encroachment, heat, pollution, and contamination. The planter box should be able to withstand these stressors and mitigate their impacts on the plants’ growth.
Functionality: Intuitive, easy-to-assemble planter boxes are ideal to promote community adoption.
Sustainability: Environmental, economical, and social sustainability are important to consider in relation to manufacturing, costs, replicability, adaptability, and functionality.
Community: The Grand Bayou Tribe is located in one of the most remote parts of the United States, accessible only by boat and with limited infrastructure that connects houses. The planter boxes should be designed to overcome the connectivity barriers that are in place to bring people together.