GROW, by Daan Roosegaarde, is a LED light installation that improves plant growth and shows the beauty of agriculture
GROW is the title of a site-specific installation created in the Northern Netherlands by the Dutch design studio led by Daan Roosegaarde. Agriculture is one of the main economic activities in the Netherlands, employing the most advanced technologies for agriculture 4.0, allowing for little land use and resource consumption. Despite being an indispensable activity, now carried out with scientific methods, agriculture has never been very fascinating in our imagination. Daan Roosegaarde had two goals: on the one hand, to show the beauty of agriculture; on the other hand, to study how a wise use of certain lights can improve plant growth, reducing or avoiding the use of pesticides altogether. As a matter of fact, pesticides in agriculture are a problem for the health of soils, food, and the people who eat them.
LED lights to help plants grow
This installation covers a 20,000 sqm leek crop. GROW is a system of led LIGHTS projecting red and blue lights on plants’ leaves by using the most advanced photobiology techniques. Blue and red lights enhance plant growth and reduce the use of pesticides by up to 50%.
The red and blue lights move, creating a sort of poetic and fascinating dance. Therefore, GROW, combines art and science to emphasize the importance of innovation in agriculture to cultivate in a more sustainable way. According to the designer, Daan Roosegaarde, GROW is also a light that illuminates the dark times we are going through and gives hope to the people.
Watch the video of GROW, Daan Roosegaarde’s installation
GROW, which took two years to develop, is part of the artist-in-residence program promoted by Rabobank with the support of Wageningen University & Research, Springtij Forum, and the World Economic Forum in Davos. It is the first in a series of installations by Daan Roosegaarde showing art’s potential to create a better world. [Txt: Arianna Callocchia Foto: Daan Roosegaarde]
In the photos below, the field illuminated by the sun and by LED lights at night
Other images of Grow, the light installation by Daan Roosegaarde
