We’ve recently come across Japanese botanical artist, Makoto Azuma who works with plants as sculpture and installation. He’s made a career out of using micro-climates as an art form, but we’re particularly taken by one installation which brings botanicals into the home — with walls and floors covered entirely in living plants.
We love the blend of distinctly Japanese minimalism with living botanicals, to create a space where the ‘inhabitants’ can watch the walls and floors grow and change through time.
Here, he completely reinterprets a bedroom and bathroom, by making nature the central feature of each room.
We’re not sure if this is a functioning home, but are eager to walk around in and see the space, and more importantly to feel what these ‘nature rooms’ are like to be in. We wonder if they would emulate the tranquillity and calm of nature in some way, and if they would be great spaces to be creative in.
The space reminds us of How to Grow Your Own Fresh Air, an inspiring four-minute TED Talk, about bringing three remarkable high-oxygen-giving plants into the home to extract harmful chemicals, cleansing the air of the home or office. (Video link HERE.)
We’ve seen various systems for growing indoor plant walls. The most readily available is Urbio Magnetic Wall Planter System. Here’s a pretty complete guide to living wall basics, which mentions a number of other indoor wall systems.
Hmmm. Lots of possibilities if you’re into seriously tending your plants…