Your Garden Variety Bus

Phyto Kinetic by designer Marc Granen. Photo via Urban Gardens

Designer Marc Granen decided to plant a garden on the roof of a bus. Yes, a bus.

If you’re in Spain, you might be able to catch a glimpse of the Phyto Kinetic in action. Granen and his team of designers have designed a lightweight rooftop garden with a multitude of uses. Granen says that his mission “is to expand the garden area in urban environments, increase the absorption of CO2 and give public transport a new ecological and tourist attraction”.

I appreciate Granen’s clever use of a space that we may not think of as underutilized and I think it would be exciting if these buses were able to help grow and deliver food to neighborhoods that have poor access to healthy food options. Maybe they could grow gardens on school buses and that food could feed the children!

Some buses have bicycle racks but front racks add space when the bus is parked and areas that have limited space (i.e. Manhattan) cannot afford the extra room. Utilizing the top of the bus, could provide a resource and not have to take up additional space.