Smog Eating Buildings

Reducing point source emissions is a necessary first step in the fight against climate change and air pollution. Finding ways to merge science + architecture to create innovative solutions that reduce air pollution by design takes things one step further. It would be great to see Los Angeles, still ranked among the worst air quality in the US, build smog eating buildings like the one shown below in Mexico City. In fact, the new Broad Museum on Grand Avenue, with its honeycomb exterior facade, would be a perfect candidate for this sort of technology.

Fast Company describes the chemical process: "When UV light cuts through smoggy air and hits the titanium dioxide on the tiles, a chemical reaction occurs between the tiles and chemicals in the smog--mono-nitrogen oxides, or NOx. A lot of chemistry goes on in the interim, but for simplicity’s sake, the end result of the reaction is that the smog is broken down into small amounts of less noxious chemicals, including calcium nitrate (a salt used in fertilizers), carbon dioxide, and water. The titanium dioxide itself remains unaffected, so it can keep making reactions happen."