Architects Amit and Britta Knobel Gupta moved from London, England, to New Delhi, India, and confronted a severe problem: air pollution unlike anything they had ever seen. To help make the air more breathable and the city more livable, the couple developed a tower designed to purify the air through design. “Our main business is architecture; we didn't want to get into air purification,” Amit said. “But the pollution here was simply unacceptable. It’s very bad.”
And they are right. A study published by the medical journal *The Lancet* revealed that in 2019 alone, air pollution caused nearly 1.6 million deaths in India. New Delhi is regularly shrouded in smog, with vehicle emissions, crop burning, and coal-fired power plants all contributing to the decline in the city's quality of life. It was against this backdrop that the newcomers decided to take action.
The Verto, developed by Studio Symbiosis, may look like a public art installation. However, beyond its sleek appearance, the tower's aerodynamic, curved design is primarily engineered to draw air through the structure's multiple openings. Fans help pull air in, directing it toward filtration cubes that can clean 600,000 cubic meters of air per day, equivalent to the volume of 273 hot air balloons.
Standing 5.5 meters tall, Verto reduces levels of nitrogen dioxide and dangerous fine particulate matter. According to the developers, each tower can clean the air within a 200-to-500-meter radius in enclosed spaces and between 100 to 350 meters outdoors, depending on wind direction and other environmental factors.
To minimize environmental impact, the fans utilize artificial intelligence, adjusting their operation based on local conditions—slowing down when pollution levels are low or when strong winds provide natural airflow.
The architects state that each tower consumes as much electricity as an industrial vacuum cleaner. The filters, which need to be replaced every three to nine months, are partially recyclable, and the noise level generated by the towers is a maximum of 75 decibels, similar to a standard kitchen blender.
The first tower was installed in New Delhi’s Sunder Nursery, and as Amit told CNN, initial testing of the prototype was successful. The next steps involve discussions with public authorities for future installations.
A major part of the development process was ensuring that air did not simply circulate around the tower, but was instead drawn inside. The team achieved this by studying a variety of aerodynamic designs, ranging from cars to airplanes. “It was a back-and-forth process in terms of trying to find the ideal shape to increase wind speed and surface area,” Amit explained.
The project's creators believe the tower can be mass-produced and installed across various urban locations, particularly in parks, which draw large crowds and serve as key spaces for public health.
“I think these towers can be installed in parks and public squares, where people spend quality time outdoors,” Britta said, adding that placing the towers in areas where unhoused people sleep is another highly beneficial option.
Studio Symbiosis believes that installing 100 towers could be enough to clean the entire center of New Delhi. In the US, some companies are already considering using the equipment to filter air on construction sites, while buyers in France, New Zealand, and Uzbekistan are exploring potential installations in their respective countries.
Via CicloVivo.
This article was written by Natasha Olsen. The translation is powered by AI.
