Technical Designer / Artist (Houdini)
Student Project - Startup Avnir
October 2019
October 2019
Garden Box is the result of a one month student project for the startup Avnir that develops the idea of reusing shipping containers for hydroponic cultures.With the context of development of the client at that time we developed the idea of creating a system for individuals in joint tenancy or municipalities.
The system of Garden Box is the reusing of unused shipping containers to grow plants. We took the idea further to integrate it in a community.
To ensure a stable ecosystem we had to think the process from the initial delivery of Garden Boxes to their upkeep and the economy around it.
The shipping containers are also placed in a particular order with an entry lock, harvesting containers, etc. up to the transformation of initial products, vegetables into soup for example.
The shipping containers are also placed in a particular order with an entry lock, harvesting containers, etc. up to the transformation of initial products, vegetables into soup for example.
The complete ecosystem is managed through a mobile app where each inhabitant gain and spend points to grow further the ecosystem.
I took a procedural approach to demonstrate what could be the result of such a system. The outcome is a Houdini Digital Asset that could be integrated with Unity or Unreal and, on this specific project, for a mobile app.
The asset produces a container path with two user inputs (area and entry point). Different parameters are available publicly to tweak the displayed asset (floors control, props scattering modifiers).
Render of a result of the tool
With this tool we were able to showcase multiple examples for different sizes of community, from a small building and it's roof to a city district wanting to reclaim a wasteland.
This system was included in a mobile application, running with Unity, that simulated the journey of a community registered with the Garden Box program from the choice of the different shipping containers to the daily upkeep of the system.
The overall project was then presented at an open exhibition at the Valenciennes Convention Center.
On this occasion we ran a social experiment using a replica of our system in which each visitor took decisions that affected the growth of plants for the next visitors, as it would have theoretically worked within a community of inhabitants.
Team
Special thanks to Lucile Arnaud and Anaïs Lachi for the 3D props modelling.
But also to Robert Biaulet, Claire Denaux and Martin Ducam who, with the others, did much more that I invite you to discover on their profiles!
You can also have a look at the project on Artstation:
