There's always been something rather cold about computer design. From the boxy, beige machines that characterized the early PC era to the sleek but antiseptic scheme of modern Apple products, few computers aim for aesthetics with warmth and life. The concept design "Secondary Growth" tries to alter that history by envisioning a hybrid of house plant and computer that adds organic flair to the drab desktop.
Created by Israeli designer Omer Deutsch, Secondary Growth imagines a computer cooled by the water and soil needed to grow an ivy plant. The soil and moisture from the plant substrate keep the hard drive from overheating, and the computer serves as a pot for the plant. By melding plant and machine, Secondary Growth proposes that the ubiquitous desktop could provide homes and offices with a touch of nature, rather than propagating the institutional oppression projected from monotonous, monolithic, black computer towers.
"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. "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."
Secondary Growth remains in the design phase, a concept speculation about a more organic work environment, with no intention of actual production. But there's no reason it can't work. High-powered gaming computers already use liquid cooling systems, and the Mac G4 Cube proved how little space computer components take up. Intrepid DIY enthusiasts could even build one themselves.
"The inspiration for the project came out from my own working environment, and from the observation that most of us now spend so much of the day working with computers, we forget sometimes to take our eyes off the screen and look outside the window," Deutsch told InnovationNewsDaily. "My conclusion was 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."
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