Title: Active Phytoremediation Wall System

Category: #responsiveenvironments

Author: Emily Rae Brayton, Ahu Aydogan, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Year: 2011

Url: http://www.evolo.us/architecture/bio-mechanical-pod-system-produces-fresh-air/

Description: The Active Phytoremediation Wall System is a modular system of pods, housing hydroponic plants. Its main purpose is to encourage airflow and contribute to the quality of life through its air cleaning capacities. The project is a result of a collaborative research between Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.  It is a bio-mechanical hybrid system that produces ‘fresh air’ from within buildings, thereby reducing the energy consumption. Because the plants’ roots are exposed, instead of being buried in soil, the plants’ air-cleaning capacity increases by 200 to 300 percent. The pods themselves are made from vacuum-formed plastic, and the form allows the maximum amount of air to reach the root rhizomes while using the minimum amount of material.