It isn’t difficult to grow plants when you have your own garden, but what if you live in a cramped apartment? Not everyone has the space to get their green thumb on, so Chilean industrial designer Lorenzo Vega thought it would be useful to make a modular planter which makes use of otherwise unused vertical real estate:

Inpsired by the Japanese architectural movement called Metabolism, the modular planter uses a series of square floors and circular holes to hold your local plant life. Simply put your plant in a small pot, add a floor tile, and watch your green baby grow.

The planter’s main feature is its LEGO-like modules. You can add a new floor either on the side or above your existing garden to make room more plants. If your plants start to get bigger, you can slot in an extra see-through vertical wall for your growing babies.

The best part about the modular planter is how you can adapt and rearrange it to your personal preference or space. If you decide to move some plants or if you’re looking for a change of scenery, all you need to do is adjust the modules, add some here, place some there.

Lorenzo Vega has more details about this versatile plant holder on his Behance page. It’s an ingenious concept design we would like to see put into production or provided as 3D print. The idea actually lends itself to variations that could be made with sustainable materials — wood or clay pots, for example. Though the water column will be important for some plants, many have grown veggies, herb, and other plants on their countertops for years, so it’s certainly doable. If you have a variation of this design, do share!