HUNGRY ECOCITIES : Paths to progress Experiments
+ PROJECT
Sprouting Embryonic Futures
Haseeb Ahmed & Sprout Dynamics
SUMMARY
Sprouting Futures is a collaborative experiment between Studio Haseeb Ahmed and Sprout Dynamics within the Hungry EcoCities PPE program. Over the course of the residency, the team developed a prototype sprouter as both a test-bed for experimentation and a display object that echoes Sprout Dynamics’ founding vision: a small-scale, home-based sprouter that is at once practical and captivating.
The project explored the fundamental properties of sprouts and how they might be reimagined as cultural and ecological symbols, rather than focusing solely on efficiency or industrial compliance. Sensing and novel camera techniques provided new insights for growers and offered consumers a deeper relationship with the food we eat.
A public event, speculative scenarios, and commissioned recipes highlighted sprouts as “embryonic foods” — concentrated forms of life energy that nourish both body and imagination.
The outcome of the residency includes a prototype sprouter, a performative public demonstration, and a short publication. Together, these articulate a vision for how sprouts could shape future urban food practices and inspire cultural shifts toward more resilient diets.
DEVELOPED PROTOTYPES:
Sprouter: a living system that combines sensor networks, a stroboscopic watering system, and an automated timelapse machine to grow and visualize sprouts in real time.
+ ARTIST
Haseeb Ahmed
Belgium
Haseeb Ahmed (b. 1985) is an American artist, educator, and researcher based in Brussels, Belgium. He produces objects, installations, and films. His work is often collaborative and draws from the hard sciences, blending art and aeronautics, myth and technology, to create new narratives.
“The challenge is that sprouts are extremely sensitive: minor shifts in humidity, airflow, or light can determine success or failure. Our mission was to build a small-scale, automated system that could monitor these conditions and adapt, creating an optimal environment for sprouts. Beyond technical optimization, the goal was to situate food as a cultural practice — something that reshapes how we sense and interact with our ecological rhythms.”
Haseeb Ahmed
+ SME
SPROUT DYNAMIC
Industrial sprouting
Copenhagen, DENMARK
Sprout Dynamics ApS is an industrial sprouting technology developer and producer of fresh, frozen and cooked sprouted (flax)seed as a B2B ingredient.
“The PPE residency encouraged us to explore non-traditional forms of collaboration that opened entirely new perspectives on the technical and conceptual aspects of our work. Engaging with artists and researchers helped us see technology not only as a tool for efficiency, but as a medium for communication, education, and emotional connection with food. This experience sparked fresh ideas and inspired us to rethink how innovation in biotechnology can be made more human and accessible.”
Iryna Gavrylova, CEO, Sprout Dynamics
The HungryEcoCities project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under grant agreement 101069990.