Value Garden
Showcasing the value of the garden as a living entity
DSKD, 2023
Project with
Evy Cornelissen,
Rasmus Trøst Simonsen,
Ziyao Peng
“Plants are the always open wound of the metaphysical snobbery that defines our culture.”
- Emanuele Coccia, The life of plants: A Metaphysics of Mixture
Persona
Entrepreneur in road maintenance,male, 40 years old.
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- Motivated to transform his garden into a productive, biodiverse space.
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- The idea of being self-sufficient inspires him.
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“I feel it more like a construction site than gardenwork”
Defining the problem
A lack of awareness toward the garden that he already has was identified. The focus was on developing strategies to help enhance the garden’s value, while making it convenient for the collaborator to use.
Garden Map
From the elements that were already part of the garden like apple trees and a greenhouse, different tools were developed to facilitate the interaction between him and the garden, making it easier, convenient, and exciting.
The tools
A journal, a wooden box for sharing and two timelines - daily and yearly, were the given tools. The timelines accentuate the importance of time and the always changing nature of the garden.
The journal is a way of keeping notes from year to year, writing thoughts and recipes. The wooden box is placed at the house’s entrance and it's used to share vegetables and fruits with the neighbors, encouraging a sense of community.
Behavioral Design
7 weeks, Design for Behaviour Change
In collaboration with a specific household, the project aimed at increasing the connection between nature and humans through the garden, while questioning the meaning of nature shaped in our cultural context.
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Gardening is explored as a middle ground where people and nature meet and interact. A transitioning space for connectedness between people and nature.
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Analysis of Behaviours
Cultural probes and semi-structured interviews were the methods used to collect data. Inspired by Morten Münster* methods, the behaviors were broken down and the points of intervention identified.
“A pathway to the outside world"
By redesigning the pathway outside creates an opportunity to establish an everyday connection. A walk through the garden twice a day can increase the awareness for seasonal changes, blooming flowers, and growing plants.
The Garden Jacket
One of the tools is a classic “chore jacket” with pockets and features for convenience. The aim was the creation of a ritual for when walking the path. The jacket makes harvesting easy and convenient, facilitating opportunities for human-garden interaction.
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