Collect-Store-Release Planter

New Orleans, LA

Conroy Landscape Architecture entered the Edible Planter Box Competition hosted by The Water Collaborative, a New Orleans-based non-profit focusing on climate resilience through equity, education, and policy. Teams were tasked with designing a planter that can be manufactured by competition sponsors, Green Theory and Anova Furnishings, and addresses urban flooding and food insecurity. The planters were required to hold a volume of water and allow for the cultivation of edible plants.

The Collect-Store-Release planter was focused on reducing barriers to entry for implementation. No special tools are required to install or maintain the planters and the system can easily scale from one planter to many planters as funding becomes available. Our design statement:

Food insecurity and flooding are issues that will only be solved if the opportunities to address them are widely implemented. This planter system is revolutionary because it can be executed successfully, distributed easily, is accessible to many users, and brings joy. The design limits barriers to implementation, with dimensions that could be shipped more easily, maneuvered without equipment, and accessed from all sides. Lower production costs and quick set-up make these more likely to be used and will more quickly address these two issues.

Second Place Winner - Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans Edible Planterbox Competition 2021