Image © Good Looking Studio
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https://www.archdaily.com/1123811/mural-in-warsaw-made-with-special-paint-purifies-the-air-like-720-trees
Warsaw, Poland, has become the second city to receive public art projects that, in addition to beautifying the landscape, clean the air. Painted by local artists, the massive mural uses special, sun-activated pigments capable of filtering the air.
The mural was produced with titanium dioxide, which attracts pollutants and transforms them into harmless nitrates thanks to a sun-activated chemical process. Through this process, the artwork can purify its surrounding air, an action equivalent to the work of 720 trees.
The site chosen for the ecological art was a building near a busy metro station in Warsaw. Polish artists Maciek Polak and Dawid Ryski depicted a cheerful collection of flowers standing out among urban structures, and the design was transferred to the large wall by the Good Looking Studio graffiti collective.
Image © Good Looking StudioAlongside the flowers is the message “Create Together For Tomorrow”—words of welcome and encouragement for people returning to their routines after the difficult period of pandemic and social isolation.
Image © Good Looking Studio“Right now, the pace of almost everything has slowed down. We saw the opportunity to reinforce a positive message and help clean the air through murals and art,” sportswear brand Converse said in a statement. The brand is responsible for the project, which is part of the Urban Forests campaign.
A Global Movement
The murals will spread to several cities worldwide, totaling an air purification capacity equivalent to more than 3,000 trees.
Bangkok, Thailand, already has its mural. Warsaw was next, and 13 other cities have already been selected to join the Urban Forests Project: Belgrade (Serbia), Lima (Peru), Sydney (Australia), Jakarta (Indonesia), Manila (Philippines), São Paulo (Brazil), Santiago (Chile), Johannesburg (South Africa), Melbourne (Australia), Bogotá (Colombia), and Panama City.
Beyond Converse, other initiatives are leveraging air-purifying pigment technology. Dutch firm Studio Roosegaarde has installed billboards using the same paint in Monterrey, Mexico.
Image © Studio RoosegaardeEach billboard matches the air-filtering power of 30 trees every six hours and can remain active for up to five years. The initiative has helped combat pollution in valley areas of the country that are out of reach of the wind currents that typically disperse pollutants.
Design and Clean Air
Daan Roosegaarde, who led the billboard project in Mexico, specializes in initiatives that combine design with the fight against air pollution. He created the world’s largest air purifier in Beijing, China, which is capable of filtering 30,000 cubic meters of air per hour.
The device transforms pollutants into gemstones used in jewelry, which is sold to fund the construction of new air purifiers.
Image © Studio RoosegaardeAn avid cyclist, the Dutch designer says he wants to transform the Chinese city into a place where people can ride again without breathing in pollutants. “By combining Chinese and Dutch expertise, we will bring back the bicycle as a symbol of China. The goal is to restore clean air to cities,” Daan says.
Via CicloVivo.
This article was written by Natasha Olsen. The translation is powered by AI.