La fabbrica dell’aria: greenhouse that reduces indoor pollution

In Florence the “Fabbrica dell’Aria” (The Air Factory) was born form a team of biologists, architects and designers. The first prototype of an innovative solution to reduce and purify the air inside closed environments, such as homes and offices. The project was developed in a former tobacco factory (Manifattura Tabacchi) in Florence, closed since 2001, currently undergoing major redevelopment that will transform the building into a major multi-purpose center.

Concretely, we are talking about a large greenhouse, a device that uses and improves the ability of plants to absorb and degrade atmospheric pollutants by embedding them in the plant biomass. It is therefore a true and proper botanic filtration that purifies, cools and humidifies the air, with its own peculiarities significantly different compared to available conventional methods.

The innovative prototype is a project conceived and realized by PNAT and the neurobiologist Stefano Mancuso. An internal space capable of filtering 5000 cubic meters of air per hour, purifying air through '' natural filtering '' in the environments in which the module is inserted. The plant species included within the innovative device are all characterized by broad-leaves, such as for example: ficus, banana trees and flint, because of the purification efficiency is directly proportional to the magnitude of the surface of the leaves.

The air is then circulated within this filtering volume, where the plants purify atmospheric pollutants, reducing them by 98%, according to collected data. Moreover, the temperature reduction and a natural hygrometric regulation are provided by the plants without any external control.