Resilient Cities I Social Engagement I Urban Prototyping I Civic Hackathons I Public Art
Plants
Wonderarium WONDER + TERRARIUM = A GIANT FLOATING TERRARIUM
This site-specific proposal conceived by Sarah Filley in 2009 with Yvette Molina was to enchant and reinvigorate our romance for Oakland’s "urban jewel” Lake Merritt to add wonder to our urban spaces inspired by the innovation and optimism of the Chicago World Fair.
Renderings and engineering developed in collaboration with Architecture and Engineering Firm Ware Associates. The design includes a clear acrylic sphere (eight feet in diameter) mounted on an elegant tri-foot floatation apparatus. The sphere is designed to house a diverse selection of living plants tested during an arts residency with University of California Berkeley, Botanical Garden and illuminated from within by LED lighting.
Renderings and engineering developed in collaboration with Architecture and Engineering Firm Ware Associates. The design includes a clear acrylic sphere (eight feet in diameter) mounted on an elegant tri-foot floatation apparatus. The sphere is designed to house a diverse selection of living plants tested during an arts residency with University of California Berkeley, Botanical Garden and illuminated from within by LED lighting.
Mobile Plant Ambassador & Succulent Circus
The Mobile Plant Ambassador unit was conceived in 2010 by Sarah Filley and developed with Yvette Molina to pilot the Wonderarium public art proposal and take plants “on the road.” A visual mash-up of ice cream carts, nostalgic vending stands, and Barnum and Bailey type attractions, the Mobile Plant Ambassador promotes spontaneous interaction with the novel experience of building a terrarium directly from the cart. All supplies: glass containers, pumice, soil, and a variety of plant cuttings, are arranged in the order needed to build a terrarium in four easy steps. Participants expressed their personal creativity through plants while learning about propagation, plant care, and micro-systems to the public for free! Accompanied by several terrarium building workshops at science institutions and gardens and a Succulent Circus social tracking online work mapping the social propagation and generosity of succulents.