The temporary installation, called URBAN LOUNGE, will feature in RoGUILTLESSPLASTIC,an exhibition curated by Rossana Orlandi in the cloisters of the Leonardo Da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan.
EcoAir Tower Urban Lounge RoGuiltlessplastic 2021 Milan. URBAN LOUNGE is designed as a responsive public space capable of exploiting the specific local climate and surrounding environment to maximise user comfort and implement active microclimate mitigation strategies. The installation explores how urban outdoor spaces can be managed to combat climate change, and improves outdoor comfort by introducing passive and active strategies that are adapted to local climatic conditions: outdoor comfort is influenced by environmental parameters, such as solar radiation, humidity, air quality and wind speed. Urban Lounge manipulates these parameters to influence outdoor comfort. EcoAir Tower, the urban air purifier, contributes to the renewal of the air by absorbing toxic substances; the water mist system keeps the environment humid, favouring plant growth and lowering the perceived temperature.
EcoAir Tower Urban Lounge RoGuiltlessplastic Fuori Salone 2021 Milan. URBAN LOUNGE is designed as a responsive public space capable of exploiting the specific local climate and surrounding environment to maximise user comfort and implement active microclimate mitigation strategies. The installation explores how urban outdoor spaces can be managed to combat climate change, and improves outdoor comfort by introducing passive and active strategies that are adapted to local climatic conditions: outdoor comfort is influenced by environmental parameters, such as solar radiation, humidity, air quality and wind speed. Urban Lounge manipulates these parameters to influence outdoor comfort. EcoAir Tower, the urban air purifier, contributes to the renewal of the air by absorbing toxic substances; the water mist system keeps the environment humid, favouring plant growth and lowering the perceived temperature.
With a flow rate of treated air of about 15,000 m3 per hour (over 130 million m3 per year), the tower designed by Eco2zone reduces the average level of inhaled fine dust by 95%, from about 2.25g/h to 0.25g/h. 2021 In addition to being purified, the air also undergoes an ionisation process that "revitalises" it, creating a microclimate around the tower where environmental parameters, such as temperature, relative humidity and wind speed, are restored to optimal levels, benefitting people and their wellbeing.
The Eco2zone Innovation Lab fully supports the principles of circular economy and sustainability, connecting EcoAir Tower to a remote control system with which to always guarantee the optimal management of variables and maximum performance in the generation of an ideal microclimate.
“The EcoAir Tower can be used in metropolitan cities to recreate an optimal microclimate not only inside but also in its immediate surroundings within a span of 10 metres. "The tower uses high efficiency filters for fine particles and ionising bars to draw in air from the top and emit it filtered of pollutants, in particular Pm10 and Pm2.5," said Mr Alessandro Belloni, President of Eco2Zone and CEO of the Fervo Group.
“EcoAir Tower is able to collect and retain the graphite found in fine dust in the air, so that it can be made into new objects such as tennis rackets and pencils. Around 30 tennis rackets and over 2,000 pencils* can potentially be made a year using this method.”
The structures of the purification tower and the nebuliser are made with recycled and recyclable plastic. The goal is to demonstrate that plastics do not have a negative impact as such, but that they can instead be extraordinary resources for a more sustainable future. The main culprit of pollution is not plastic itself, but its misuse and abuse. The exhibition aims to promote awareness of waste, and to reverse the opinion on plastic by using design to transform waste into something thought-provoking.
The design for manufacturing practice and digital manufacturing techniques were used for the cladding, substructure and integrated furnishings of the installation. A 3D printed recycled plastic fibre forms the fluid lines of the structure, integrating them into the natural environment. Three main components of the installation are arranged around a magnificent tree, forming a link between nature and technology that can improve the quality of the surrounding environment with an urban air purifier and water nebuliser.
the installation is open to the public from 4.9.2021 to 12.9.2021 in the main courtyard of the Leonardo Da Vinci National Museum of Science and Technology in Milan. The project was carried out in collaboration with important technical partners: it was designed by Pininfarina Architecture and Indexlab, and manufactured by Exgineering and Gimac, Nieder.