RIO is an edible installation where design, food and collective ritual converge. At the centre of a five-metre table, four interlocking terracotta sprouters come together like a puzzle, forming a living river of germinated seeds—ready to harvest and eat directly from the clay. In a second moment, the designers complete the installation by placing sourdough breads in sculptural compositions along the table, extending the organic flow of the river, accompanied by other foods that honour time, seasonality and natural processes of preparation. Before being consumed, the food is presented as a matter of contemplation—evoking pagan harvest celebrations such as the Celtic Lammas, where the first bread was shared in community as an act of gratitude to the earth.

RIO proposes a reflection on contemporary food systems and on the need to reconnect with the origin of food and its natural rhythms. In a time defined by acceleration and distance between production and consumption, the act of germinating seeds becomes a political gesture of care, autonomy and hope—an invitation to feed directly from the "river", and to imagine slower, more local and more conscious ways of eating together.

Each piece is composed of two terracotta parts: a glazed base that holds water, and a porous tray that fits on top, slowly absorbing moisture and creating the ideal conditions for seeds to germinate directly on the clay surface. 

Across cultures and centuries, sprouted seeds have symbolised renewal—placed in Egyptian sarcophagi as an expression of life after death, placed on Persian New Year tables as a promise of spring. But a sprout is not only a symbol: it is food, one of the most nutrient-dense we can grow—accessible, local, and resilient.

These pieces propose a slow counter-narrative to acceleration and disconnection. An invitation to tend, to wait, to share. To imagine futures rooted in care and regeneration—and to begin, as Ailton Krenak suggests, by placing our hearts at the rhythm of the earth.

Francisca Sotto is a designer working at the intersection of design, art, and food. Her practice investigates the relationships between food, ecology, and community, exploring living processes such as germination as devices for encounter and collective imagination. In 2020, she founded the collective behind Germinator, selected for the 5th Istanbul Design Biennial.