2023 China Fellowship
Air Purification and Urban Strategies

Architect and inventor Richard Buckminster Fuller said, “Pollution is nothing but resources we are not harvesting. We let them scatter because we have been unaware of their value.” We know that the ozone hole is still a huge problem to this day. Although it is recovering in an orderly fashion, we cannot be sure that other variations will not arise afterwards. We should realize that this gas is two-sided in nature. For example, ozone sterilizers and ozone deodorization are other advantages of ozone apart from its filtration of ultraviolet light. However, in human production, nitrogen oxide gases from by vehicle and industrial emissions create ozone pollution. If we could absorb this harmful ozone and release it into a beneficial environment, a cycle would be created. Even if this is a fanciful and unrealistic idea, it might be a way of thinking about how we can improve air quality by turning pollutants into substances that are good for us. We can explore how we can create a green cycle in our buildings.

It is possible to investigate how applying photocatalytic products such as titanium dioxide to building surfaces can improve air pollution. This is because titanium dioxide is photocatalytic, which means it can be activated when exposed to sunlight. Ultraviolet light accelerates the reaction between titanium dioxide and harmful pollutants such as nitrous oxide and particulate matter, which in turn converts polluting gases and organics into less harmful compounds. This is a means of improving air, through the interaction of pollutant gases with organic matter to eliminate some of the harmful substances. Pollutant-absorbing materials such as organic biochar are also being developed. Alternatively, the urban environment can be improved by the metabolism of plants through their own cleansing properties. Environmental schemes such as these are being implemented. We have many ideas of how to address air pollution, but it is still a serious problem to this day. I therefore hope to observe how Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, countries that are among the top in terms of air quality, have improved in order to learn from their approaches.

I will first investigate how the Nordic countries make their buildings as air neutral as possible. For example, Finland mostly chooses to build with wood structures, an air-friendly material, or use environmentally friendly concrete to reduce pollutant emissions. I will then look at how buildings can change air quality in harmony with nature, for example by using plants to purify the air or bionic devices to simulate purification. It is also important to observe people’s habits during the fieldwork, as I am more curious as to whether it is human behavior that changes the function of a building or whether it is the construction of a building with this function that leads people to make friendly changes. I think Hammarby Eco-City in Sweden has a lot to say about this.

In my fellowship, while looking at how buildings play a role in air pollution, I also want to see people’s attitudes toward climate and how national authorities are guiding people to be better informed. Architecture is only a tool, and we need to understand people’s feelings in order to make actionable and meaningful recommendations for the building process.

“My hometown, Shijiazhuang in the Hebei province, used to have a very serious air pollution problem. However, with the closure of factories and restrictions on private car travel and other initiatives, there has been an improvement in the environment. I want to know what other more developed regions are doing, such as how some of the Nordic countries are fostering responsible ecological policies. The most important thing in improving environmental issues is still people, so getting people and architecture to work together is a very thought-provoking idea. Before receiving this award, my thinking had been confined to my home country, and this award will support my research on the human environment in other countries. In the meantime, I will be taking my gap year. Throughout this year, I hope to be able to observe the world more freely. The China Fellowship has given me the opportunity to do so and has encouraged me deeply.”
—Xianglan He