gionata gatto: 'urbanbuds' portable garden

designboom previously featured eindhoven-based italian designer gionata gatto of studio atùppertù‘s ‘urbanbuds’ project, a portable garden, shaped in the form of movable suitcases and filled with soil. we’ve now updated the article to give you a better idea of how this movable garden system works and to announce that gatto invites you the presentation of ‘urbanbuds’ at sotheby’s. you will be able to try out the project for six months and discover the pleasure of cultivating food in a community urban space!

sotheby’s london 12th-17th may 2010 34-35 new bond street london W1A 2 AA

gionata gatto’s urbanbuds – urban movable gardens

‘would you cultivate food in the city, meeting new people in new spaces?‘

today’s world cities are experiencing demographic changes with increased local populations. this demographic change includes the increase of different cultural backgrounds as well as the increased presence of foreigners in specific city areas. the presence of numerous multi-ethnic groups often brings the constitution of neighborhoods and quarters, characterized by a variegated identity. the formation of urban areas where different cultures are used to cohabiting, collaborating and engaging in a dialogue together, contributes to the affirmation of new communities. as a consequence, those communities very often become more active, present and autonomous in these territories.

for this reason, aspects such as the conformation of an urban area, the activities proposed in its spaces, the involvement of citizens in its development and the re-evaluation of unused grounds, can massively contribute to the quality of relations between residents and their cultures. ‘urbanbuds’ uses the concept of food as a sign of cultural identity. in fact every person has his own taste and preferences in choosing the seeds to plant, but the very interesting thing about food concerns the aspect of personalization, since all the people involved in this type of activity visualize their personality through gardening.

the design of this project involves the metaphor of a suitcase as a symbol of cultural background. we all are use to saying that wherever we move, we bring with us our backpack of culture, background… our so-called ‘bag of experiences’. the design takes influence from this picture and it transforms it into the product of movable, soil-filled suitcases. families can grow vegetables and fruit on the sides of the bags. each one of them allows the growth of about thirty-six different plants, which can sprout vertically along the fabric.

unloved, left over, transit spaces can become excellent opportunities to introduce ‘urbanbuds’ to its inhabitants. people can transform those unused spaces into areas completely dedicated to socialization, where they can cultivate their own vegetable garden, meet new neighborhoods and create relationships.

‘urbanbuds’ is a design academy eindhoven graduation project, and displayed as part of the ‘questions’ exhibition curated by ilse crawford and anne mieke eggenkamp, in collaboration with janice blackburn first shown at milan design week 2010. this exhibition at sotheby’s is ‘questions’ current venue.