If you believe that jewellery can only be manufactured from solid or expensive materials like gold or silver, you may want to rethink. Because The Smog Free Project, an invention in the Netherlands, led by Daan Roosegaarde, is turning air pollution into jewellery.
Smog is a severe kind of air pollution that immerses urban areas in a gloomy, hazy atmosphere. It has a number of health concerns that are particularly dangerous for young children, the elderly, and those who have heart or lung diseases. Breathing difficulties, reduced lung functioning, pain during deep inhalations, and coughing can all result from it.
The Smog Free Project is an initiative to tackle this issue, and to purify air with an aim to lessen air pollution and offer an inspiring glimpse of a clean future. A number of urban innovations are included in the project, including the Smog Free Tower, Smog Eating Billboard and the Smog Free Bicycle.
Air purifying towers
The Smog Free Tower is the innovative strategy developed by Roosegaarde to combat harmful smog in cities consisting of seven-metre-tall aluminium towers. This tower purifies up to 30,000 m3 of air every hour using a unique positive ionisation technology. The Smog Free Tower was created in 2015 and utilises 1170 watts of green electricity to function, sucking in smog at its top and releasing clean air through vents on its six-sided body.
Daan Roosegaarde collaborated on the design of The Tower alongside the architects, engineers, and designers of Studio Roosegaarde, ENS, and advisor Ursem up until 2013.
Better than diamonds?
The Smog Free Ring is a creative approach to reduce air pollution and a byproduct of it as well. It was developed by pressing smoke particles collected from the Smog Free Towers under high pressure to produce small ‘gemstones’ that could be incorporated into jewellery items like rings and cufflinks. They are being marketed for use as an engagement or wedding ring for couples and are also a part of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam’s art collection.
Moreover, by purchasing this ring, one gives the city 1000 cubic metres of cleaned air, and the sales help fund additional research into smog-free solutions.
Billboards that clean air
First installed in Monterrey, Mexico the Smog Eating Billboard was developed at UDEM University in Mexico by a group of students working with Daan Roosegaarde, who was a visiting professor. It was for the new Environmental Design course at the University where Daan worked closely with the students over a course of a year.
The contaminated particles are drawn to the billboards’ surfaces by an intelligent chemical coating. The collected particles are then subsequently cleaned using photocatalysis. The billboards have a significant impact on the city because there aren’t many places to plant fresh trees there. The first smog-eating billboard covers an area of 92 square metres produces clean air every day for about 100 people, equivalent to the oxygen produced every six hours by 30 trees.
Not just for transportation
The most recent addition to the project is Smog Free Bicycle, which was inspired by the Smog Free workshop that was held in Beijing and featured Professor Yang from Tsinghua University and artist Matt Hope.
The manta ray, a species that filters water for feed, served as the model for the creative prototype of this innovation. A plug-in device on the steering wheel of a bicycle filters the air around it and reverts purified air to the cyclist. The bicycles, which operate on the same principles as the Smog Free Tower, offer all cities an energy-efficient solution to the problems of traffic and air pollution while also reducing reliance on fuel-based transportation.
For their inventions, the project has also won numerous accolades, including the Grand Award for Sustainability, the Notable Design for Social Impact Award, and the DE for Excellent Product Design.
Furthermore, the Smog Free Project initiatives have started in Poland, the Netherlands, China, South Korea, and the Netherlands.
