The project is a reaction against our dependence on our current food systems. ‘In 2006 the global population became predominantly urban, by 2050 the UN predicts that the figure will be 80%, which means 3 billion more people will be living in cities in 40 years’. Steel (2009). We are heavily reliant on the multinational companies responsible for global food distribution; as a result, supermarkets are in control of almost the entire food industry. Supermarkets remove us from our natural relationship with food. Everything is sterile, uniform wrapped up in plastic, and is far removed from its source; food has became an overlooked consumable commodity.

Owen’s individual program of study was a journey towards his aim of becoming more self-sufficient with his food source. By designing objects and systems for growing food in the domestic, urban environment he hopes to achieve this desired lifestyle. Being considerate about the affects of how our lifestyle affects the environment should not be a sacrifice, on the contrary; we should celebrate it by harnessing our awareness for making change. Existing attempts at domestic food growing systems are temporary in their design and ‘lab experiment’ in their aesthetic. Owen has focused on designing well-made objects that would be desirable to have in the domestic environment. It is possible to have both, a valued object, that also serves a function for a considerate lifestyle.

Window Farm 0.01 is the first part in a future series entitled ‘Your house is your farm’ and utilises hydroponic technology to grow plants in the previously vacant space of a window frame. The system uses 40% less water than growing the equivalent plants in soil, as the same water is recycled continuously through the system.

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