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Desk-Farmer: Cultivation on the Office-Desk
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6818-1651
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7601-317X
In this study, we developed a framework to explore how cultivating food plants in an office-workplace affects its occupants and deployed a solution to test it. The solution was a low-cost, low-resource, low-maintenance device called Desk-Farmer, which consists of a small plant holding container, a nutrient solution tank, and an automated, self-contained lighting & ventilation module. It was implemented after a thorough review of multiple variables involved in indoor hydroponic growth, such as the growing medium, nutrient solutions, lighting systems, temperature, humidity, etc., while incorporating insights gained from industrial design to design a neat, ergonomic and convenient solution. In addition to food production, one of the core aims was also boosting psychological parameters such as concentration, comfort, etc. To measure these, we designed and conducted a survey (n = 36) to validate various psychological effects indicated in the existing literature. Our survey results indicate how the presence of plants in the workspace brings significant positive effects in certain psychological parameters viz. concentration, happiness, comfort, aesthetics, etc. A perception score was derived from aggregating responses to a structured questionnaire targeting the aforementioned psychological parameters. The presence of plants brings a 15% better perception score than the absence, that is, pre- and post-deployment of the system. This study is beneficial for designers, planners, and occupants of indoor spaces. Further studies can be carried out to experiment with the differences in these parameters with food versus ornamental plants.
Desk-Farmer: Cultivation on the Office-Desk
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6818-1651
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7601-317X
In this study, we developed a framework to explore how cultivating food plants in an office-workplace affects its occupants and deployed a solution to test it. The solution was a low-cost, low-resource, low-maintenance device called Desk-Farmer, which consists of a small plant holding container, a nutrient solution tank, and an automated, self-contained lighting & ventilation module. It was implemented after a thorough review of multiple variables involved in indoor hydroponic growth, such as the growing medium, nutrient solutions, lighting systems, temperature, humidity, etc., while incorporating insights gained from industrial design to design a neat, ergonomic and convenient solution. In addition to food production, one of the core aims was also boosting psychological parameters such as concentration, comfort, etc. To measure these, we designed and conducted a survey (n = 36) to validate various psychological effects indicated in the existing literature. Our survey results indicate how the presence of plants in the workspace brings significant positive effects in certain psychological parameters viz. concentration, happiness, comfort, aesthetics, etc. A perception score was derived from aggregating responses to a structured questionnaire targeting the aforementioned psychological parameters. The presence of plants brings a 15% better perception score than the absence, that is, pre- and post-deployment of the system. This study is beneficial for designers, planners, and occupants of indoor spaces. Further studies can be carried out to experiment with the differences in these parameters with food versus ornamental plants.
Desk-Farmer: Cultivation on the Office-Desk
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6818-1651
https://orcid.org/http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7601-317X
In this study, we developed a framework to explore how cultivating food plants in an office-workplace affects its occupants and deployed a solution to test it. The solution was a low-cost, low-resource, low-maintenance device called Desk-Farmer, which consists of a small plant holding container, a nutrient solution tank, and an automated, self-contained lighting & ventilation module. It was implemented after a thorough review of multiple variables involved in indoor hydroponic growth, such as the growing medium, nutrient solutions, lighting systems, temperature, humidity, etc., while incorporating insights gained from industrial design to design a neat, ergonomic and convenient solution. In addition to food production, one of the core aims was also boosting psychological parameters such as concentration, comfort, etc. To measure these, we designed and conducted a survey (n = 36) to validate various psychological effects indicated in the existing literature. Our survey results indicate how the presence of plants in the workspace brings significant positive effects in certain psychological parameters viz. concentration, happiness, comfort, aesthetics, etc. A perception score was derived from aggregating responses to a structured questionnaire targeting the aforementioned psychological parameters. The presence of plants brings a 15% better perception score than the absence, that is, pre- and post-deployment of the system. This study is beneficial for designers, planners, and occupants of indoor spaces. Further studies can be carried out to experiment with the differences in these parameters with food versus ornamental plants.
Desk-Farmer: Cultivation on the Office-Desk
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering
Jana, Arnab (editor) / Banerji, Pradipta (editor) / Madan, Rishikesh (author) / Jena, Sourav (author) / Biswas, Rathin (author) / Arya, Kavi (author)
2021-03-18
10 pages
Article/Chapter (Book)
Electronic Resource
English
Desk-Farmer: Cultivation on the Office-Desk
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