The Vertical Garden is a 6 x 8 ft outdoor hydroponic garden that stands 3 ft. from a wall and can either be mounted or free-standing. It is designed to grow roughly 12 lbs of Lettuce, Kale, or Spinach every 3 months. The Vertical Garden is composed of modular panels and can be modified to fit a variety of spatial requirements. The growth of the plants is entirely automated, with LED panels programmed to keep a consistent light level throughout the year for optimal grow conditions. The nutrient and water levels are monitored by sensors which communicate wirelessly with a micro controller and are automatically corrected. After the first year's harvest, the entire system will be live-streamed on a website to the entire UCLA community.

While I was a student at the University of California Los Angeles, UCLA launched a Green Initiative, to reduce waste and increase sustainable greenery in the UCLA environment. Bruin Home Solutions, an organization I co-founded at UCLA, secured funding to tackle this issue with economical Vertical Gardens. As Project Co-Manager and Design Lead, with the help of my team we designed, fabricated and implemented the first student-made hydroponics installation at UCLA. The Vertical Garden fit the parameters of the Green Initiative due to the low energy cost from the integrated solar panels, the reduced water waste inherent in Hydroponics, and the reduced maintenance cost through automation. 

As Design Lead of the project, I determined a low-cost solution to the Vertical Garden design, using readily available steel, Aluminum and HDPE, all UV-resistant and robust enough to last years. The entire design was conceptualized on paper and developed using Solidworks for weight tolerance analysis. Due to the robust nature of the materials, the entire design was well within acceptable tolerances. The water is pumped from the top by a single low-energy pump which is split at the top and flows over all troughs due to slanting designs. The water flows over the rock wool, hydrating and providing nutrients to the vegetation. The water flows down to the recollection bin, which is then pumped back to the top at an interval of 15 minutes to 30 minutes depending on the plants being grown.