IntroductionHow can we bring nature back into the city? How can we live a more sustainable life wi-thout sacrificing in terms of comfort? More and more we care about where our food co-mes from. We feel a new urge to harvest our own crops at home and experience the joy of it.

GoalThe goal of this project was to build a con-venient hydroponic gardening system, easy to maintain, environment-friendly and desi-gned as high quality garden furniture.

Technical description The system is based on hydroponics and vertical farming. Hydroponics is a form of farming where crops are cultivated on

water instead of soil. The use of nutrition, chemical substances and the water mixture are being carefully measured and adapted during the growing process. The water flows continuously. A pump in the tank keeps the water flowing in the system.

MethodA low cost, functional prototype was built to get insights into how crops grow and nurture in a hydroponic system. Such a practical approach was needed as the current sta-ge of knowledge is limited towards growing monoculture crops, mostly in greenhouses geared towards industrial use.

ResultsAfter the first season, three main conclusi-ons could be drawn:

-The diameter of the hydroponic pipes de-termines crop quality -It is possible to grow a broad variety of crops in the system -Either pots where seeds can sprout or wa-ter grown seedlings should be used.

The Sequel Using the insights of the functional prototy-pe, I am now building a user-specific pro-totype that takes into account the wish list of potential users in terms of design, crop type, size and materials.

ConclusionThe functional prototype showed that it is possible to grow different crops in a hydro-ponic system fit for a terrace, which is the basis for a hopefully successful product.

Developing a PrototypeUrban Farming for Households

Jente ClarysseSupervisor: Sebastian Bott2017-2018