Inhabitat » Foldable Greenhouse by Daniel Schipper

July 16, 2008

Foldable Greenhouse by Daniel Schipper

by Alexandra Kain

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Dutch designer Daniel Schipper created the foldable greenhouse for city gardens and rooftop terrariums. Made from recycled plastics, the greenhouse roof folds up flat for easy storage and transience. The base is also made from recycled plastic composite and its lack of framework or support materials makes it a minimalist no-fuss appliance. Just unfold, snap, and water.

Schipper’s foldable greenhouse has been causing a stir in the Netherlands and he searches for a production partnership to bring it to the global market. It’s just one of many innovative creations from his Amsterdam studio which focuses on concept, research and design having completed. Many of Schipper’s projects emphasize sustainability, functionality and fold-ability.

Just two years out of The Design Academy Eidhoven, Schipper’s portfolio boasts a number of thoughtful folding objects including a lampshade, a children’s chair and even a misprinted milk carton shelter.

+ Daniel Schipper

3 Responses to “Foldable Greenhouse by Daniel Schipper”

commandersprocket Says:

July 17th, 2008 at 12:55 pm

I REALLY like this concept. As I believe that
A) the US needs to reach toward energy independence as quickly as possible.
1) the most difficult to address portion of this energy is transportation energy (a replacement for petroleum oil)
2) the existing vehicle fleet will will remain with us for 10-20 years (with possible replacement with electric vehicles, massively improved public transportation, hydrogen cars powered indirectly through renewables, or radicaly more efficient hybridized cars using high tech composites and aerodynamic designs )
B) The primary means of reaching towards that independence looks more and more like it will be algae based oil and alcohols (most likely genetically modified bacteria that turn algal solids into butanol)
C) Growing that algae will happen most efficiently in vertical racks, in containment (to avoid massive H20 losses), in the desert SW of the US, inside greenhouses.

So, imagine if we could take our waste plastic streams and turn them into algae farms that could be “unfolded” and plugged in (to H20 and algae nutrition on the IN side, and lipid extraction and fermentation on the OUT side).

commandersprocket Says:

July 17th, 2008 at 2:20 pm

I REALLY like this concept. As I believe
A) the US needs to create energy independence. We need a close cycle CO2 system for this so we can not cook the world. Petroleum for transportation use seems to be the trickiest part of this.
B) We will need to use a variety of methods, but it seems like a majority of that energy will come from algae based oil. (and algae solids based alcohol).
C) The best way to grow that algae seems to be vertically in the US SW in greenhouses.

If we are really going to build twelve thousand square miles of greenhouses, it would make sense to use recycled
plastic and to mass produce the greenhouses and erect them where needed.