“We ran out of smog in Rotterdam,” Daan Roosegaarde said, in reference to the smog-free rings still up for purchase, in a phone interview with ArchiExpo e-Magazine. Around 1600 people had pre-ordered these rings to financially support the Smog-free Tower project, a job well-achieved.
Roosegaarde shipped the last batch of rings at the end of January 2016. As orders keep coming in and international skies thicken with pollution, Studio Roosegaarde will see their tower, “the world’s largest smog vacuum cleaner,” travel the world. First stop? Beijing.
Click here to find out how the tower cleans urban skies.
No smog left in Rotterdam thanks to the Smog-free Tower. Courtesy of Studio Roosegaarde
Preparation should begin this summer.
“We only need a few weeks to prepare, then one or two weeks to install the tower,” Roosegaarde continued. “It’s like a traveling pavilion.”
When the team of designers and engineers first began, they were told “it’s not possible” and “you can’t do it.” They completed the first tower in Rotterdam and began hearing, “Why didn’t we do this ages ago?”
They’re now focused on making several versions of the tower, both smaller and larger. The building itself uses green energy and can be compared to the use of a small water boiler. The technology resembles that which “cleans air in hospitals.”
The essence of their designs, as Roosegaarde explained, is a desire for beauty.
“Beauty, for me, is clean air. Why do we let technology dominate our lives? Technology should be used for the good of people.”
Roosegaarde confirmed the tower will make its way to other cities like Mumbai and even Paris.
