Research of the contemporary climate and urban conditions of China led to a study based on the proliferation of urban pollution that is currently plaguing city centers in the north, particularly Beijing. Carbon emissions as a result of the coal-powered electricity grid, in conjunction with intensive population densities and lax environmental regulations to date, have produced particulate matters into the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of the population. Prevalent winds from the south carry fumes from coal-powered plants into the heart of Beijing, while additional northerly winds blow pollution from industrial sectors of the north into the urban center.
Decentralization of the urban core has begun to take place at an administrative level, with a megacity six times the size of New York being planned under the title of Jing-jin-ji, a metropolitan area encompassing Beijing and the port city of Tianjin to the east. The urban proposal presents the decentralization of the dense city as an architectural opportunity in the form of an air-purifying structure located on a light-rail line to the south of Beijing. Utilizing an existing technology that coats the louvered-facade of the building with a ‘pollution-eating’ finish, the structure serves to disperse wind flows from the south while providing an architectural response that actively filters the air.
Maximizing the surface area of the building to efficiently utilize the air-purifying effects of the louvered-facade, the mid-rise hybrid-typology building presents itself as a symbol of a new development model in China based on sustainable environmental practices and societal progress. The interconnected nature of the structure with a high-speed light-rail line addresses the intertwined economic ties between Beijing and the rapidly developing regions surrounding it in the form of the new Jing-jin-ji metropolitan area.
