The Biome by London-based designer Samuel Wilkinson is a flora terrarium that connects to your iPad.
The climate conditions, water level and nutrients inside the biome are controlled by an app for smartphones and iPads. Wilkinson explains that the concept promotes “digital downtown’ by finding an alternative use for smartphones and encouraging their owners to consider a slower life”.
With the application the user is able to control the temperature, while low-energy lighting built into the top of the terrarium can replicate sunlight.
Unlike the instant communication that has become a feature of the smart digital age in which we live, the control and nurture of a real ecosystem takes both time and patience, which is what Wilkinson wants to promote with the Biome.
The Biome is designed to incorporate different types of environments, tropical, desert, herb gardens, so it can be easily managed, even by those who don’t have green fingers.
The design was developed for an exhibition titled Slow Tech – Designs for Digital Downtime at trend agency Protein’s exhibition space.
