Boston's Treepods inspired by the Dragon's Blood Tree

Paris-based Influx_Studio are developing a new concept of artificial urban tree which absorbs Co², called TREEPOD. The proposal could be defined as a CO2-scrubbing living machine. The artificial trees don’t replace the natural ones, but they act like small urban “air cleaning infrastructures”. The design of the treepods was inspired by the the Dragon's Blood Tree, the shape of which is optimal for providing a shading canopy.

The Treepod Initiative is a sustainable project lead by Influx_Studio and ShiftBoston. The aim of this collaboration is to allow the achievement of Boston’s global goals in terms of carbon reduction programs in the short time, allowing enough time to make the change from the present fossil fuel economy into a new Zero carbon energy economy. 

Dragon's Blood Tree. Image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Socotra_dragon_tree.JPG

Advanced technologies are actually already developed that allow the capture of the atmospheric carbon dioxide from ambient air in an efficient, economic and sustainable way. Developed by Dr Klaus Lackner, Director of the Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy at Columbia University, this process is based on the discovery of the ‘humidity swing,’ a technology that enables the energy-efficient capture of CO2 from air, allowing to close the carbon cycle and creating a valuable product for beneficial use. You can read more about how the ´humidity swing´ works here. The treepods have photovoltaic panels integrated into their canopy, and the energy thus produced is used to power the CO2 filtering system and also LED lights at night.

Concept images via Archdaily.


// Satu