The joys of the terrarium mainly consist in beholding the Earth in miniature, by containing the terrestrial world in a shell of one’s own making–life neatly encapsulated in a transparent box small enough to fit on your desktop. For a city dweller (most of us, nowadays), these little plots of respite are a refreshing turn from the concrete environments we constantly inhabit, not only for the visual resplendence they offer, but also because they are portals into ecological, if not vaguely sci-fi futures, where natural systems are thoroughly integrated into the urban fabric of our cities.

Landscape architect Dagný Bjarnadóttir has captured some of that same wonderment with her Furnibloom living wares. The pieces, which were on display at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai, are hybrid creations consisting of laser-cut two-dimensional plexiglass panels, slotted together to form three-dimensional containers filled with soil and plants of all kinds. Just remove the lids of the transparent table set to add water, then replace the tops to resume your breakfast. Bjarnadóttir’s stools and tables, thus, become functional planting beds for flowers, vegetables, and herbs, both portable greenhouses and spice cabinets that also accommodate your dinner parties. 

by Samuel Medina

posted in Uncategorized

tagged design, furnibloom, furniture, green, plants, plexiglass, Stool, transparent

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