“In the future, waste shouldn’t exist,” Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde said in the official video for the Smog Free Project.
It goes without saying that bad air quality in cities affects our psychological and physical well-being. Roosegaarde and his team of experts came up with, what they call, “the world’s largest smog vacuum cleaner.”
In collaboration with his expert partners ENS, the team of Studio Roosegaarde, and professor Ursem, Studio Roosegaarde opened its Smog Free Tower to the public on 4 September 2015 at Vierhavensstraat 52. The tower incorporates a patented ion technology that inhales smog.
Roosegaarde takes the inhaled smog and designs Smog Free Rings, Smog Free Cubes and Smog Free Cufflinks from compressed particles. When the jewelry is purchased, 1000m3 of smog becomes clean air.
“The first Smog Free Tower cleans 30.000m3 per hour without ozone, runs on green wind energy and uses no more electricity than a waterboiler (1400 watts). Smog Free Jewellery specifications available on request.”
The tower’s Kickstarter campaign closed in September 2015 with 1,577 contributors, earning 113,153 euros. The tower in Rotterdam is open for visitors until 2017 and should make its way to cities such as Mumbai and Beijing. Stay tuned.
