May 25, 2010
How Urban Sculpture Might Clean up the Air We Breathe
The ProSolve 370e is coated with Titanium oxide, which combats several well-known air pollutants. Photo courtesy of the Cooper-Hewitt.
Imagine a sculpture that could help make the air cleaner simply by sparkling in the sunlight.
That’s the idea behind ProSolve 370e, one of the inventions currently on display at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York as part of the museum’s National Design Triennial: Why Design Now?
The sculpture, designed by the German-based company Elegant Embellishments, was crafted of round architectural tiles made of recycled ABS plastic and coated with titanium dioxide (TiO2). When exposed to sunlight, the titanium dioxide combats and neutralizes two key pollutants: Nitrogen oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), the elements that contribute to ozone depletion and acid rain, not to mention respiratory problems in humans.
Titanium dioxide, which is known for its “antimicrobial, self-cleaning, anti-fogging, and air-purifying qualities” has been used as an anti-pollutant since the 1970s, but the German-based designers Allison Dring (American, b. 1974) and Daniel Schwaag (German, b. United States 1972) say the ProSolve 370e takes the technology to the next level. Their sculpture, they say, is more efficient, because they designed it so that the largest amount of surface area (painted with titanium dixoide) is exposed to sunlight—allowing a smaller, more compact sculpture to have the same effect as a larger piece with less exposure to light.
The ProSolve 370e can stand alone or be mounted on buildings. Photo courtesy of the Cooper-Hewitt.
In addition to acting as a free-standing sculpture, the ProSolve 370e can also be attached to overpasses, buildings and other structures, which means it doesn’t necessarily have to take up space on its own.
“[It's] modification that effectively ‘tunes’ existing buildings by enabling them to perform in new ways,” the designers wrote in the exhibit catalog.
Learn more about the sculpture and other green designs on the Design Triennial’s website—or go check out the sculpture yourself.
“Why Design Now” runs through January 9, 2011 at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, 2 East 91st Street New York, NY 10128.
Sign up for our free email newsletter and receive the best stories from Smithsonian.com each week.
4 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
This is interesting. Art with a purpose. This will definitely change the mentality of many people who don’t appreciate art.
It’s too bad it’s so ugly though…Maybe it could be put to good use if it was put on TOP of buildings where it wouldn’t be so visible? As it is, it looks like a giant model of magnified bone or something. However, it is an excellent idea!
I love the Copper-Hewitt! As a designer it has always been the place I look to keep my eye on the pulse of trends.
This exhibit proves Design can SAVE our world! It is efforts like this that will educate our world that using design think to problem solve is smart. Looking to the design world to problem solve our greatest challenges as a global community affords us teams of people skilled at collaborating and creating in an efficient manner.
From the Tree Hugger site: John Bielenberg has a mission: Change The World. And there is one method that keeps that lofty goal from being mission impossible. Bielenberg formed Project M – a design program that challenges participants to quickly and with little or no resources effectively tackle one small goal and implement change through design. It’s a test of pure energy and creativity, and it’s incredibly successful. Check out videos of the actions Project M has inspired.
Project M’s purpose is to inspire designers, film makers and artists to use their talent and creativity for the greater good of the world.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/john-bielenberg-gives-designers-48-hours-to-change-the-world-video.php
John and the world of design are working to bring change through creativity and collaboration.
http://www.projectmlab.com/
Powerful things are happening!! Makes me proud to be a part of the design world!!
Fantastic blending of innovation and design!
Check out this link for entering ideas for healthy indoor and outdoor environments in exchange for grants in which to implement them:
http://www.because.phillips.com/Home/AboutAwards