New Delhi citizens are facing a smog crisis of epic proportions. The World Health Organization has classified Indian cities in the top 20 of the most polluted in the world. In 2017, the air quality in New Delhi was so poor that it was the equivalent of smoking 44 cigarettes a day. The health implications of this crisis are profound.

The Smog Project encompasses a series of 328 feet-high filtration pods, each capable of producing 353 million cubic feet of clean air per day, and is the brainchild of architect Najmus Chowdhry. He has said that the air quality in New Delhi is comparable to a gas chamber, and that everyone in positions of authority are passing the buck.

Chowdhry’s design sucks air in through the base of each tower structure and it passes through five stages of filtration. As the air flows through the tower, it is filtered through charcoal activated carbon, negative ion generators, and electrostatically charged plasma and photo-catalyst elements. These filters will trap airborne particles, bacteria and viruses. The towers would be powered by solar hydrogen cells, laid out in a hexagonal network of sky bridges between towers. The repository of carbon particles will be recycled into the production of graphene, concrete, fertilizer, ink, and the water distillation process.

Curbing practices that cause smog in the New Delhi area is a slow process that could take generations if something drastic is not done. Biomass burning, industry and transport emissions are the chief contributors to the smog crisis. It is estimated that it will increase by 775% in 2040, while public transportation is in a sharp decline. It is truly the perfect storm.

The Smog Project is shortlisted for a World Architecture Festival 2018 award in the  ‘Experimental Future Project’ category, for proposals that challenge conventional thinking.

From the ADG Jobsite  

Patina on steel custom joints, on a project with architect Eric Meyorwitz

by Gerald Olesker, CEO, ADG Lighting