More than just a facade
Architects have designed facades that improve air quality in cities.
TAKE A DEEP BREATH. In megacities like Mexico City or Beijing, the smog sometimes fills the surrounding areas to such an extent that residents and visitors have the impression in the evenings that the sun hasn’t risen all day. This not only impacts on their well-being; the polluted air also makes them ill. Many cities have therefore decided to do something about reducing the high volumes of traffic. For example, London and Stockholm have introduced a congestion charge, and ever since there have been far fewer cars polluting the air. Elegant Embellishments, a young Berlin business start-up run by architects Allison Dring and Daniel Schwaag, has come up with an alternative to such measures. They have developed a facade made of steel and plastic which actively reduces the amount of particulate matter in the air. The secret is that the facade is coated with titanium dioxide, which neutralizes harmful particulate matter. In Mexico City, the two architects have already coated a building with titanium dioxide and it is now reducing particulate levels by the equivalent of 1,000 cars’ emissions per day.