Hanging from the ceiling like an ivy plant, Omer Deutsch’s “Secondary Growth” computer design softens the harsh, plastic, traditional work cubicle.
If you’re reading this right now, chances are you are a person who spends at least an hour or two a day on a computer (if not more). This has become commonplace practice for people, and it is not unusual for people to eat in front of their computers, watch TV on their computers, and generally spend a lot of time hanging out with these electronic boxes. The problem with this is manifold, but here are two computer issues that Israeli industrial designer Omer Deutsch was able to tackle with his “Secondary Growth” design: the need for a more aesthetic, organic design for computers and the need to provide a reason for people to occasionally look up from their computers.
Deutsch feels that “products have been just plastics and raw materials for a long time, which means that those products are alienated and ‘cold’ to our environment. So, by making the hybrid between nature and products, we make them constantly changeable and more alive, we get to relax our eyes once in a while, remembering that there is a beautiful nature outside and improve our lifestyle.”
Enmeshing the organic vine-y quality of an ivy plant with a computer hanging from the ceiling, Deutsch’s design looks like more of a decorative piece than a functional computer. But functional it most certainly is, and the plant even improves the computer’s functionality.
The moisture and soil from the plant help keep the computer’s hard drive from overheating, and in return, the computer base serves as a pot for the plant. Quid pro quo.
“The computer was my choice for the concept because of the contrast it creates with the ivy, and also because it’s the second most widely used product in our lives, after our cellphones,” Deutsch said about his design.
“All of the components of the computer are designed so it would know how to evolve with the changing ivy. It uses the water as a cooling system, the components can be easily replaced since they are mounted outside the box and the computer is floating in the air from the ceiling in order to let the ivy cover it in its natural way of growing.”
: MSNBC
: Omer Deutsch
Read more about green computers::
Can a Super Computer Solve the World’s Climate Crisis?
15 Ways to Mod and Upcycle Your Redundant PC
Do You Eat in Front of the Computer?
Author: Karen Chernick
Much to the disappointment of her Moroccan grandmother, Karen became a vegetarian at the age of seven because of a heartfelt respect for other forms of life. She also began her journey to understand her surroundings and her impact on the environment. She even starting an elementary school Ecology Club and an environmental newsletter in the 3rd grade. (The proceeds of the newsletter went to non-profit environmental organizations, of course.) She now studies in New York. Karen can be reached at karen (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
