Since its inception in 2016, aKagreen has been on a mission to green work spaces and cultivate wellness through plants. Through perennial installations in offices or ephemeral for the time of an event, aKagreen thinks of plants as essential elements of space design. Interview with Sabrina Ananna, co-creator of the concept.
AKagreen was created by Sabrina and James, two Parisians “in need of green who wanted to put a little more plant life into everyday urban life”. After six years of existence, the figures speak for themselves: since its inception, the company has rendered more than 500 green workspaces, which corresponds to a total of 15,000 plants installed. “It’s a way to contribute to (re)awaken environmental awareness and provoke a change in behavior. We are committed and concerned about our impact, that’s why we have the B Corp label” explains Sabrina.
In September, Akagreen worked on the occasion of the Paris Design Week by setting up the Intramuros café at the Espace Commines, where the different talks of the week were held. A touch of green that was good for the morale, and the lungs!
You advocate “cultivating well-being through plants”. To what extent is their presence in the living environment beneficial?
The power of plants on our behaviors and our health is no longer to be proven. Numerous studies confirm this. Plants act on the level of well-being, creativity, mood, stress, productivity, fatigue… They have a real positive psychological and physiological impact. At aKagreen, we don’t consider plants as simple decorative objects but as living beings that will interact with the people around them to create a positive emotional bond close to what we can feel in nature. Today, with the various crises we are experiencing, plants have more than ever a role to play in the design of spaces where we spend a lot of time.
Intramuros Café installation during the Paris Design Week in September 2022, in partnership with aKagreen
How are your interventions organized?
The project has evolved nicely since its inception in 2016 as today we primarily green work spaces. Our goal is to create more lively living spaces, conducive to exchange and creativity. From this point of view, our plantings are generally perennial since the plants are installed to last and flourish over the years. Around a “turnkey” system, we take care of the preparation, delivery, installation and maintenance of the plants.
Do you see a way to link plants and design? How might this translate?
Depending on the size of the project, we regularly work with architects. In fact, the plants are integrated into the project as an architectural element in their own right. They appear on the plans and pieces of furniture are specially designed to accommodate the different varieties of plants chosen. Far from the plant forgotten in a corner, the plant is integrated as an essential element in the design of spaces, open and flexible.
Intramuros Café installation during the Paris Design Week in September 2022, in partnership with aKagreen
Intramuros Café installation during the Paris Design Week in September 2022, in partnership with aKagreen
Is the choice of plants important?
We consider the visual impact of plants to be unique. On their own, they can create an incomparable atmosphere. This is why the choice of varieties is essential. At aKagreen, we are used to mixing the usual plants with some rarer and exceptional varieties. Nothing is left to chance, all plants are pre-selected according to the conditions of the space and then planted in strategic locations to ensure the sustainability of each according to light and temperature.
Interview by Maïa Pois
