Future eco-design. VERTO AIR CLEANING TOWER won the RED DOT 2023 award
Air pollution is one of the main environmental problems of modern cities. Therefore, the creation of effective air purification systems is an important area of eco-design. Studio Symbiosis Architects recently presented their development of the VERTO air purification tower, which was awarded the prestigious international design competition Red Dot Award 2023 due to its manufacturing quality and original design. In which category did VERTO win? What does his name mean? What is the design of the tower, the principle of its operation and performance? What makes this air cleaning system effective? Read about all this below.
According to the team at the international bureau Studio Symbiosis Architects, a good design product should satisfy some important human needs. And according to the World Health Organization (WHO), almost 99% of people living in big cities breathe more polluted air. Therefore, the designers set out to develop the VERTO air purification tower. Its first prototype was installed in 2022 at Sunder Nurseries Park in New Delhi.
The design of the tower is largely determined by the principles of aerodynamics, thanks to which the designers managed to create a design with the most efficient surface. Air is drawn into the tower by energy-efficient fans, then passes through a cascade of fine filters that trap fine particles and dust, before being expelled. Thus, this air cleaning system is able to pass through it a mass of 600 thousand cubic meters of air.
"During the development of the tower project, many studies were carried out, which helped to better understand the aerodynamic processes to ensure the optimal speed of air passage through the cleaning system.
VERTO receives airflow from multiple directions, essentially providing 360-degree air purification. This fact is reflected in the name of the structure. Latin "verto" means "turn". And so that the streams of dirty and cleaned air do not mix, the operation of the fans is based on a detailed CFD analysis, that is, a calculated model of the movement of air masses. In turn, the technical condition of the air cleaning system is controlled by means of interactive sensors.
The outer shell of the VERTO consists of modular fiberglass panels, making the structure easy to transport and assemble on site. The authors of the project call this air purification tower the eco-design of the future and claim that their invention can clean the air flows of a large public space, an urban area and even an entire city at scale.
The importance and high efficiency of the VERTO project is emphasized by the recognition of the international design community and the first prize of the Red Dot Award 2023 in the category "Industrial Design" (Product Design).
Building Name: VERTO Air Purification Tower
Authors: Studio Symbiosis Architects
Year of construction: 2022
Location: New Delhi, India