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Clip-On Plant Room Adds Green Space to Apartment Buildings
Posted By
Bridgette Meinhold
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Architecture,Design,Gardening,Homes |
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The New Zealand team came up with the idea in part because there are so many apartment buildings out there that could benefit from a sustainable upgrade. Rather than tear these buildings down, the Plant Room provides an eco-addition. Inside, apartment dwellers can use the room like a greenhouse to grow plants and veggies, compost organic waste, and create a bit of extra living space. The top of the Plant Room features a green roof and a solar hot water heater, which provides enough hot water for the apartment.
Besides providing extra space to grown one’s own food, the Plant Room acts as a buffer for the apartment, protecting it from the sun and providing extra insulation. In the winter, the room collects heat from the sun and circulate the warmth into the apartment, while in the summer it provides shade. Compost is processed in a worm farm located in a built-bench, and rainwater is collected from the roof to help irrigate the plants. Currently, the design team is working on two prototypes – one will be built onto a traveling shipping container, while the other will be built onto a prototype building.
Via Treehugger
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Most city apartments don’t leave much extra space for gardening or sun rooms — but what if you could add on an eco extension to your existing apartment? That’s the idea behind the clip-on Plant Room, a design proposal from a Wellington, New Zealand for
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The Plant Room serves as an eco-addition to any apartment, providing key sustainable upgrades without having to tear down the apartment building.
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The room is designed to bolt onto a variety existing apartments.
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The extra room serves as a buffer for the apartment, protecting it from the sun in the summer and helping circulate warmth in the winter.
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The little room is equipped with a worm farm to compost organic household waste.
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Urban gardening can easily be accomplished in this small room, which gets plenty of sun.
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The room could also be suitable for use as an eco-office or additional living room space.
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The Plant Room was part of the Sustainable Habitat Challenge in 2009.
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The team is currently working on building two prototypes of the Plant Room. One will be built onto an existing apartment, monitored and tested to driver further development.
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The second will be built onto a shipping container and exhibited at various locations in and around New Zealand.
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The roof of the plant room includes a green living roof and a solar hot water system that provides enough hot water for the apartment.
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Multiple Plant Rooms can be installed on an apartment building.
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Another rendering showing the placement of plant rooms on an apartment building.
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