Air Bubble' Installation: A Symbiosis of Architecture & Microorganisms

Currently, the concept of green architecture is very massively used by architects with different topologies. No exception in the installation design, most of the ideas depart from the issues around. At the Glasglow Science Center, ecoLogicStudio tried to design a building to celebrate the 26th Conference of Parties (COP26).

(Air bubble built in front of Glasgow Science Centre for COP26)

This is an 'Air Bubble air-purifying eco-machine', an example of infrastructure that has a specific purpose to help efforts to restore the surrounding ecosystem. This effort was communicated by ecoLogicStudio through a system in the installation that supported the campaign, namely the use of air purifiers and a green architectural system.

According to ecoLogicStudio, this installation is a bio-digital project that shows how the advanced integration of biotechnology into the built environment can lead to a new generation of architecture to live and develop, where aesthetics go hand in hand with ecological performance.

(The structure is built using the TPU membrane)

This futuristic transparent pavilion is filled with 99 percent air and 6,000 liters of water as a unicellular 200-liter green alga (chlorella) "medium" in charge of purifying the air. Inside the pavilion, ecoLogicStudio presents 24 photobioreactors. This system works by absorbing pollutant molecules and carbon dioxide and then converting them into clean oxygen which is flowed into the pavilion.

(Air Bubble | air-purifying eco-machine consists of 24 photobioreactors)

(Photobiorector details)

This air purification process is supported by energy from heat and sunlight as well as kinetic energy from the movement of visitors entering the pavilion, the more people who play in it, the cleaner the air will be. This air purifier machine can absorb up to 97 percent nitrogen and 75 percent of particles in the air.

(The inner area of the Air Bubble | pavilion water-purifying)

(The photobioreactor process is supported by sunlight and kinetic energy from visitor movements)

The air bubble air-purifying eco-machine' structure is designed with TPU membrane – an environmentally friendly material that is moisture permeable, windproof, and waterproof. Membrane TPU with a thickness of 0.5 mm is considered to be able to accommodate air and water pressure from the entire structure.

Overall, Air Bubble air-purifying eco-machines' work to purify the air reveals a strong symbiosis of architecture and living microorganisms as well as focuses on the filtration and metabolism of air pollutants.

(The inflatable and light structure is described as a large bouncy jellyfish)