'eva' indoor aquaponics furniture grows fresh vegetables from fish waste

‘eva’ designed by françois hurtaud takes shape as an elevated aquaponics furniture piece that allows users to have fresh vegetables and herbs available for use at any time. the product can also accommodate decorative plants and flowers such as chinese evergreens, spider- and butterfly plants, bringing life to any indoor space. functioning as an artificial ecosystem, ‘eva’ turns fish byproducts into a food nutrient source for the plants.all images courtesy of françois hurtaud

creating a virtuous circle, ‘eva‘ by françois hurtaud mimics part of nature’s metabolic cycle; ammonia, which is the waste of the fish, is pumped up to the garden where the substratum of plant roots dispose it into nitrates and nitrites and takes it up to grow fast. then, the water — removed now from ammonia while including many nutrients — returns to the fish as a food source. the earliest example of this technology is deemed to be in 1,000 a.d. by the aztecs, who raised plants on rafts on the surface of a lake.

aquaponics is a sustainable method of agriculture, increasing crop production per square foot versus traditional farming with low water and low power consumption. this method looks like hydroponics, with the difference that the second one uses formulated solution instead of fish, to provide nutrients. ‘eva’ was designed to be assembled with different parts that simply dovetail with each other while no tools are required. 

both the garden and the fishtank share a common source of LED light, providing life to the fish and plants, bringing warmth and illumination to the interior at the same time. furthermore, there is an app that controls its health system and brightness anytime, providing low energy consumption, while it wakes up and switches off ‘eva’ according to the user’s sunrise and sunset location.

project info:

name: eva

designer: françois hurtaud

fishtank volume: 8.5 gal or 32l

height: 65.2 inches (1672mm)

depth and length: 21.6 inches (550 mm)