Farm Bay (Workbays Village: Vitra x ÉCAL)

ÉCAL MA-DP Project. Led by Camille Blin and Erwan Bouroullec

Given the task of revisiting Vitra’s ‘Workbays’, I proposed to introduce the concept of office farming. The Farm Bay allows for office workers to cultivate their own plants, edible or decorative, and create a micro jungle within the workplace.

My initial proposal was a hydroponic lab/farm system that could work with little maintenance. The exhibition prototype was a more playful version made with terracotta pots.

Al recibir la tarea de reinterpretar los Workbays de Vitra, propuse introducir la “granja urbana” al ambiente de oficina. El Farm Bay permite a los trabajadores de oficina cultivar sus propias plantas, comestibles o decorativas, y crear una micro-jungla dentro del espacio de trabajo.

Mi propuesta inicial fue un sistema hidropónico que pudiera funcionar de manera autónoma. La propuesta final es una versión más lúdica que integra macetas de terracota. El principal elemento diferenciador es el módulo de rejilla, que permite cultivar plantas trepadoras.

PaulaCermeno_ECALphoto_WorkBays
Workbays Village at ELAC Gallery, ÉCAL, Renens, Switzerland. © ÉCAL/Younès Klouche

Exhibited at:
ELAC Gallery in Renens, Switzerland 2017
Design Parade, Port des Créateurs, Toulon, France 2017
Vitra Fire Station by Zaha Hadid, Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany, 2019

Workbays Village in Dezeen
Workbays Village in TLmag
ECAL Press Release
Vitra Press Release

Workbays Village at Vitra Fire Station, Weil am Rhein, Germany. © ÉCAL/Jimmy Rachez

Photography by ÉCAL/Younès Klouche, Jimmy Rachez
Renders by Paula Cermeño León