Yuichiro Takeuchi created a combination of hardware and software that allows him to 3D print seeds embedded in a nutrient rich yarn spool. It was on display at the Sony CSL Symposium, held last month at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. Yuichiro is from Tokyo, Japan, where space is everything. If you live there, you live in tiny “compartment apartments”, and you do not really see too much natural beauty in your day-to-day existence. The project was initiated to not only bring back more natural beauty to uber-urban Tokyo, but to attract some culturally significant visitors.
Yuichiro said, “Here in Japan we love fireflies (they have a special cultural significance), but as they can only thrive in pristine environments, we don’t see them in dense, built-up Tokyo. I’m hoping that by installing a number of printed gardens on rooftops and walls throughout Tokyo, I can someday bring back fireflies to my neighborhood.”
Based on hydroponic methods, the embedded seeds in the 3D printed yarn are cultivated in water using mineral nutrient solutions. No soil is needed, and you can print your garden in any shape you like. But you are not limited to horizontal ambitions. With a few adjustments to the yarn mesh, the plants can grow all over vertical surfaces as well.
Until he can accomplish his goals of expanding his design to produce much larger yarn encasements that could grow vegetables, fruits and possibly even trees, he will have to make do with printing smaller plants such as watercress, basil and arugala.
Perhaps you’ve seen some amazing vertical gardens in cities before, so this idea may not be new to you. Maybe you saw an installation by Patrick Blanc in France. These are quite beautiful but they cost thousands of dollars per sq. meter, and require a great deal of planning and logistical organization. Yuichiro spoke to Business Insider about the potential obstacles that his machine could remove from such a process:
“The printing solution takes away much of those hurdles, and also provides a high degree of flexibility (one can print out a garden that fits snugly into any designated space) which hopefully will make hydroponic gardening more attractive for citizen living in dense cities with limited space,” he said.
The benefits of bringing in more lush green plants in a highly customizable way would bring a welcome increase in air quality, creativity and visual satisfaction. Imagine billboards made of flowers and plants instead of epilepsy-inducing flashing lights and baffling high resolution imagery.
Sounds good to me, Yuichiro.
