Chinese designer Huachen Xin has created Pollution Ranger and Smog Shade, an installation that monitors and visualises the air pollution levels in cities.
Pollution Ranger is a self-powered air quality monitor that attaches to the roof of a taxi or Uber car and collects data on pollution levels.
This information is then relayed to Smog Shade, a transparent disc in a circular metal frame that darkens and becomes opaque if higher levels of pollution are detected in the city.
The installation has been shortlisted for Dezeen Awards 2020 in the installation design category.
Xin, who is a graduate of the Royal College of Art, decided to create this realtime data visualisation system in response to the air pollution situation in China. Some cities, including Beijing, are blanketed in smog caused by pollution that can cause serious respiratory illnesses.
“Air pollution has become a major issue in China and poses a threat to Chinese public health,” said the designer. “The only air-quality data that people can access is the government-published data and the authenticity of it is doubtable.”
The problem with government data, explained Xin, is that the state air quality monitors are deliberately located where the air is cleaner, such as in parks, on rooftops, or even on islands in the middle of lakes. This leaves people without any access to accurate information about the air they breathe.
“Lack of alternative sources of verified national and local data not only violates the basic rights of citizens but also serves as an abuse of power,” said Xin.
According to a study in the Lancet, an estimated 1.24 million deaths in China could be attributed to air pollution in 2017.
Pollution Ranger will give more accurate readings about the severity of air pollution because it is fixed to cars as they drive along busy city roads.
Placing Smog Shade in public spaces can then give people a quick and simple visual update on the air quality at that time and place, so they can react accordingly.
Xin has also designed an app that would allow users to select a city and read the air quality data for different locations that day.
“This installation creates alternative ways for people to gather and access ‘natural’ air quality data,” said Xin.
“It’s a way to visualise this data in public spaces to create social impact and put pressure on the inaccurate official datasets.”
Many designers have responded to the problem of worsening air pollution. IKEA has made a set of curtains that purifies the air inside a house, and design studio NotAnotherOne makes wearable air pollution monitors that test and track local levels.
Daan Roosengaarde has designed a bicycle that filters and cleans the air as it is pedalled and made the Smog Free Tower in Beijing, which takes in polluted air and releases clean air.
