a 23-foot-tall air purifier gets a tryout in smoggy beijing - air purifier for smoke

Instead of the screens, sensors, microchips, and big data that smart city designers usually use, Daan Roosegaarde uses a more novel kit: Smoke-
Eat machine, light-
Release plankton and solar energySensitive to paint
"When we talk about innovation today, it's on the screen --
But smart cities are not about another app or a microchip . "
Roosegaarde, a design company and studio, is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
"Big data is important, but things go wrong if we focus only on technology, forget to connect with people, forget to connect people to the environment.
"It is this philosophy that led Mr. Obama.
Roosegaarde and his partners have created the world's first outdoor air purifier, the smog-free Tower.
Only 23 feet high and looks like a micro Chrome
Grid skyscraper
But inside, a powerful vacuum device uses ionization technology to absorb smoke, filter out dangerous particles, and release purified air. Mr.
Roosegaarde believes that within 36 hours, it can eliminate 70 to 80% of air impurities from areas the size of the football field.
The tower was designed by Mr.
The test was then conducted in Rotterdam.
But now it will face even greater challenges: the Ministry of Environmental Protection recently commissioned
Roosegaarde will temporarily install the tower in a public place in Beijing on September to see how it performs in the catastrophic smog that suffocates China's largest city.
Then it will continue with a smoke-
In the coming year, the battle Tour, as well as related educational activities, went to four other Chinese cities.
Whether it's Chinese or Obama.
Roosegaarde fantasized that the tower would have any real impact on the overall air quality in China.
Liu Guozheng, deputy director of the China Environmental Journalists Forum under the Ministry of Environment, said China would have to make more ambitious efforts to eliminate the root causes of smog.
"However, the role of the smog-free Tower as a warning signal is still very important," he said . ".
"This reminds us of our mission and responsibility to deal with the smog problem.
In June, Ma Yun, an environmental activist in Beijing, also expressed the view that the Smog Free Tower project is a "performing art" aimed at raising air pollution awareness ". But Mr.
Roosegaarde thinks this is the first step.
In addition to any impact it has on the environment, the tower is very important to the entrepreneur spirit it represents.
Sascha Haselmayer of Citymart said: "This marks how cities can find new ways to solve problems and pave the way for new ideas from more diverse entrepreneurs, innovators and civic communities, New York-
Consulting companies that help cities solve problems and share solutions. Mr.
Roosegaarde said that both the Chinese government and his team will monitor the air around the tower, which uses 1,400 watts of electricity a day, about the equivalent of an electric kettle.
A by-product of the project is as imaginative as the tower itself: the carbon particles extracted from the air will be compressed and sealed in acrylic in the form of rings, cufflinks and cubes, and then sold.
The proceeds will be used for the development and construction of more towers. Mr.
The 36-year-old Roosegaarde said the souvenirs were offered in a crowdfunding campaign, initially offering the tower 113,000 euros, or about $125,000.
The ring was given to those who donated 250 euros.
He said he received 1,600 pre-orders at a fair price, mostly rings.
The prototype of the project, based on the existing technology of the hospital and parking lot purification system, took two years to develop at the cost of "about million euros"
Said Rose.
In addition to crowdfunding, Dandong city;
Port Rotterdam;
The Dutch foundation;
Studio Roosegaarde provides financial support.
The early consultant at Roosegaarde's studio was Bob Ursem, a nano-particle expert at Delft University of Technology, who designed a way to extract particles from the air. Mr.
Roosegaarde said the idea of the smog-free Tower came into being during 2013 trips to Beijing. When he learned that the smog was so severe that some of the time of the year, the children of the city could not play outdoors.
The tower attracted inquiries from other cities, including Mexico City in India, New Delhi and Mumbai, and Santiago in Chile.
The project represents Roosegaarde gestalt: the combination of technology and social relevance, connectivity and poetry creates a way to experience the landscape of the city.
"Breathe the cleaner air around the tower, what story will people tell? ” he said.
"In my life, the physical experience has changed me, giving me a different view of things.
My job is to create this atmosphere.
Son of a math teacher, Sir.
Roosegaarde grew up in the countryside of Lake Nieuwkoop in western Holland.
Then the country boy went into town.
"I am a person who falls in love with the city and places in front of girls," he said . ".
"It was Antwerp at the age of 16.
After studying art and architecture, he decided to stay in Rotterdam because there was"
"The attitude of being a harbor city," he said . ".
"It gives us the background to test ideas and make mistakes.
He opened the Studio Roosegaarde, located at more than 10,000-square-
The foot front glass factory near the port.
It usually employs a team of 15 designers, engineers and support staff, but with the addition of specific project experts, the team can grow to up to 30.
In addition to the smog-free Tower, the other rose Gard projects that attracted international interest are smart highways and Van Gogh bike lanes, working with Heijmans, the Dutch infrastructure services company.
Both projects use a combination of daytime sunlight and evening glowing paint.
Highway paint (
Pilot Project in Dutch city Oss)
Green light is bright enough that no street lights are needed.
Bicycle path (in Eindhoven)
It is the colorful vortex inspired by Van Gogh's works.
Another project is collecting light.
Produce a marine plankton called algae, producing a liquid that glows at night.
"We are working to improve the quality of life of the organism, to increase the intensity of the light it produces and to eliminate the smell," he said . ".
"The idea is to illuminate a bike lane with 100% of natural light.
He describes himself as a futurist who focuses on the present.
"I'm not saying there are all the answers.
It is thinking in suggestions, not in opinions.
You do this by building things and showing it.