Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Soho’s 570 Broome has a self-cleaning, air-purifying facade

The treated facade has the same environmental impact as removing 625 vehicles off the road

A new facade cladding treatment created by Cincinnati-based manufacturer Pureti has made its debut at 570 Broome Street—the 25-story condo designed by Tahir Demircioglu of architecture firm Builtd—and could help the build act as an air purifier, reports the Wall Street Journal. The technology was developed in partnership with Neolith by TheSize and is hoping it will aid in the fight against air pollution.

Here's how it works: The building's exterior is sprayed with titanium dioxide nanoparticles, which when hit with ultraviolet rays, sets off chemical processes that eats away at dirt and converts contaminants into nontoxic materials. As a result, the building exterior works as a self-cleaning structure while also purifying the surrounding air.

Per the WSJ, researchers at Louisiana State University performed tests and field studies that confirmed that Pureti's technology was effective between 50 and 70 percent of the time. From that research, Pureti determined that treating the facade at 570 Broome would have the same environmental impact as removing 625 vehicles off the road.

A spokesperson for NASA stated to the WSJ that Pureti'c coating has indeed demonstrated its ability to keep surfaces clean and the company will be developing new products for NASA in the future.

"One building is not going to really change things," said Pureti chief executive Glen Finkel to the WSJ. "But if cities begin to adopt this technology, they could transform their outdoor environments.

The treatment adds less than 5 percent on a developer's cost.

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