Central Saint Martins graduate Doris Xu has created a weighted planter that shifts from side to side as the plant absorbs water, allowing users to observe its rhythms of growth.
Xu, who graduated from Central Saint Martins‘ Product and Industrial Design course, developed Tilt in response to the detachment she observed between city-dwelling houseplant owners and nature.
“Rather than seeing a houseplant purely as a static and decorative object, I wanted to emphasise the fact that plants are in fact living and constantly growing by creating a planter that could reflect this constant change,” she told Dezeen.
Made out of just two materials, the planter comprises a curved aluminium plate that’s punctuated on one end with a hole; inside rests a terracotta pot where users place their plant of choice.
“I didn’t want the design of the planter to distract from the plant itself and its growth, hence the minimal aesthetic,” explained Xu.
“Terracotta is a traditional material for flower pots and its porous qualities allow air and moisture to pass through the pot, which is beneficial for the growth of the plant. The aluminium is able to reflect some of the [terracotta’s] nice orange sheen as well.”
Accompanying the planter is a set of three spherical weights, each a different size. Users choose a weight that’s suitable in relation to the scale of their plant, and hang it off a bar that runs through the centre of the planter so that it sits upright.
As water that’s fed to the plant is eventually absorbed, the pot and its contents will become lighter, causing it to tip towards the weight and indicate to the user that it needs to be watered again.
Once the plant is re-watered, the whole process will repeat. As the plant eventually grows and gets bigger, users will have to swap out the weight for heavier ones.
“I wanted to use weights for their tactility, being able to hold them in your hands means you can physically feel how much your plant has grown,” said Xu. “The weights also become a visualisation of the plant’s growth process.”
Tilt joins an increasing number of devices designed to improve how people interact with plants and green spaces.
Earlier this year, Slovenian tech company Bird Buddy released an AI-powered camera that records the movement of insects and birds in people’s back gardens, and then turns it into a narrated “BBC Earth-style” mini documentary.
US studio Moss has also created a self-watering planter and an adjoining lamp that allows users to easily grow a variety of plants indoors, even if they have no prior gardening experience.
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