Ikea has launched a DIY spherical* garden which is designed for city living where space is scarce.

    The Growroom is a 2.7m-tall piece of living furniture for growing plants, vegetables and herbs and it’s made of just 17 sheets of plywood*.

    The Growroom was created by Space10, a “future living lab” supported by Ikea. It has been designed to be affordable to build and in theory can be assembled* in the comfort of your own home.

    Designers Sine Lindholm and Mads-Ulrik Husum believe this is a vision of the future where healthy food is grown more locally.

    “The challenge is that traditional farming take up a lot of space and space is a scarce resource in our urban environments,” said the designers at Space10 in a recent blog post.

    The Growroom has a small spatial footprint as it grows vertically*. The Growroom is an open source design, which means people can copy the design without asking and architects* have encouraged people to build their own locally.

    Unfortunately you can’t buy pre-cut plywood. You need to cut the plywood with a computer numerical control (CNC*) machine, a laser cutter or a table saw and put it together using a screwdriver and hammer. The overlapping panels mean that plants can get light on each level, making it an idea shape for growing greens.

    At 2.8x2.5m, it’s big enough for people to sit inside and pause for a moment of reflection.

    Lindhold said she sees it as part of the floating cityscape.

    The visitor is invited into an intimate world where only the visitor and vegetation co-exist for a moment, she said.

    The shelves are 7cm deep which allows space for the soil and the designers recommend treating the plywood beforehand to protect it.(SD-Agencies)