Let's clear the air! - Blueair
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BLUEAIR LIFE Clean air Green Better Unilever’s CEO
– healthier living highlights breathing speaks out
«If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive
and well, no amount of money will save us»
Let’s clear
the air!
It’s time to
improve the
health and well-
being of people
everywhere
BLUEAIR LIFE
NO 1 2018
CLOUD
CITIES
Artist and architect
Tomás Saraceno is
convinced that our
future is up among
the clouds
inside 04 FILTER
The people, trends and
20 CLEAN AIR
– HEALTHIER LIVING
36 BIG AIR
Human beings have always
innovations that contribute to If you want to live longer, you been drawn to the mountains,
PHOTO: EMIL FAGANDER
a better and more sustainable should think carefully about usually the higher, the better.
ANNIKA
world. where you live and what kind
WALLER
of air you breathe. 38 AIR DE LUXE
12 SOMETHING The air at the Fairmont Beijing
CMO BLUEAIR
IN THE AIR 22 HIGHLIGHTS! Hotel is always clean – all 222
Fragrance consultant Linda The future belongs to green rooms have been fitted with
Yes, we can!
I
Landenberg explains nature’s architecture that improves the Blueair air purifiers.
mysteries. quality of the air that we live and
work in. 44 AGENT OF CHANGE s there anything more universal than air?
14 HIGH DESIGN In an exclusive interview with It moves freely across national borders, changes on a whim,
Blueair air purifiers combine 24 GLASS ACT Blueair Life, Unilever’s CEO Paul
and doesn’t care whether you’re rich or poor. This makes it
the best of Swedish design and Every year thousands of tourists Polman outlines how we can all
technology. visit Jennie Olofsson’s glass contribute to a better world. everyone’s responsibility – and challenge. We’re infinitely
studio on the Swedish island of proud of the fact that our air purifiers are helping to create a
16 HOW IT ALL BEGAN Gotland. 48 HOLY MOLY, healthier world. But for us social responsibility is not
Johan Wennerström is the A CATHEDRAL OF AIR! something that can, or should be, limited to our products.
brains behind Blueair’s 28 MIND OVER Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s
As such we are engaged in a dialogue with academia, government
groundbreaking air purifier PARTICULATE MATTER striking artworks continue to
technology. Air quality has a huge impact amaze us.
and industry to bring about real change. Just like we are calling on the
on children’s development. In UN to make clean air a priority (page 59) or helping hospital patients in
Los Angeles the problem is Mumbai by handing out face masks (page 57).
being tackled in a way we can all The will to bring about and effect change is embedded in our DNA.
learn from.
And we are determined to leave no stone unturned in our efforts to
improve the quality of the air that we breathe.
50 TAKE A DEEP Recently we launched our Blueair Sustainable Living Plan, which
BREATH seeks to improve the living conditions and health of 50 million people
Are you stressed? The best way
over the next three years. This will be achieved in part through our
to get your thoughts in order is
to learn how to breathe products but also through education and raising awareness of the
30 BLUE-SKY THINKING
correctly. positive health benefits of clean air.
«We live at the
Artist and architect Tomás
Saraceno argues that we must The plan also sets out what kind of company we want to be,
52 BREATH OF LIFE
bottom of an leave the ground for a new age,
floating in a sea of air. Plants breathe pretty much the
same way as we do.
underlining our commitment to social justice, and our policy of
making sure there are as many women as men in leadership positions,
ocean of air and 34 A NEW WAY
54 TRANSPARENCY
as well as our goal of halving the energy use of our products by 2020.
All companies have a responsibility to the environment, and for us it
the space above Sara Alsén on Blueair’s
Sustainable Living Plan – and Everyone should have the is vital to lead by example.
us is full of life» the goal to give clean air to
50 million people.
right to clean air. Welcome
to our world.
To show that change is possible.
TOMÁS SARACENO, artist and architect, page 30.
BLUEAIR LIFE
PUBLISHER: ANNIKA WALLER ● PRODUCTION MANAGER: CAROLINA DURHOFF ● PRODUCTION: KLINTBERG NILÉHN MEDIA AB
● EDITORS: GRAEME NADASY, MÅRTEN NILÉHN, PONTUS DAHLMAN ● ART DIRECTOR: KAI RISTILÄ ● DESIGN: JESSICA ERICSSON
● PROOFREADER: JULIA NEWCOMB ● FRONT COVER PHOTO: TOMÁS SARACENO BACK COVER PHOTO: TOBIAS HÄGG
● PRINTER: STIBO ● WEBSITE: BLUEAIR.COM
e, trends and inno
l va
eop tio
P
ns
Recent research proves
that 72 per cent of
th
all car owners worry DANIEL HAGSTRÖM, PRESIDENT OF
Filter
at c
about the air quality in
their car. The Cabin Air BLUEAIR CABIN AIR, EXPLAINS THE
ontribute to a b
Purifier will take care
of that IMPORTANCE OF HAVING CLEAN AIR
INSIDE YOUR CAR
A new freestanding air purifier is
Text Pontus Dahlman also available and can be bought by
Photo Karl Nordlund anyone and fitted inside the cabin. It
will clean the air inside a car in 4-6
e
minutes, even in the most polluted
an tter IF YOU THINK YOU’RE SAFE from air the road that are torn up by traffic, towns or cities.
dm d. pollution as soon as you’ve closed as well as the exhaust fumes from On a personal note, what has driven your
orl your car door, you’re gravely your own car. There are also many work in this field?
ore
sustainable w mistaken. That was made very clear hazardous chemical gases and particles “I grew up with fresh air. My work
05
to us when we talked to Daniel being released inside the cabin. That has taken me to northern China and
Hagström, President of Blueair Cabin new car smell is not good!” sometimes you can hardly see anything
Air. In order to clean the air of all these there because of the smog and the snow
Hagström and his team recently pollutants, Blueair has developed a is black. Then you realise something
Daniel launched an air purifier that you can purification system and filters able to is wrong. That makes me want to find
Hagström
use in your car, camper van or boat. be fitted to a car’s climate control unit. a way to bring about cleaner air and a
Filter
Age: 45 Roughly the size of a couple of cartons “We are supplying this solution to better environment. Moreover, I want
Occupation: President of Blueair of milk and operated using a controller some of the world’s biggest car manu- to help to make the world a better place
Cabin Air since autumn 2016. plugged into the cigarette lighter facturers,” Hagström says. for my children.” ●
Long experience as an socket, it connects to the Blueair
entrepreneur in the automotive
Friend app to report on the air quality
and telecom industries.
Hobbies: Skiing, sailing and
inside and outside the cabin. “For a
mountain climbing. Has scaled device of this size, nothing else can LEADER
three of the world’s Seven come anywhere near it for efficiency The Cabin Air Purifier
is available in Standard
Summits: Aconcagua in and performance,” Hagström says. or Premium. Depending
Argentina, Elbrus in Russia and So what’s the difference between poor air in on the model and size
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. «Standing of vehicle, the air is
our homes and in our cars? cleaned in
on one of the highest mountain
“Our homes and our cars are places 3-11 minutes.
peaks in the world… You won’t
find fresher air anywhere else.» where we live and breathe. As a rule,
in both of these places the indoor air
is often worse than the outdoor air
because of, for instance, chemical
emissions from textiles and exhaled
air. When it comes to the cabin of a
car, indoor air is up to 15 times more
polluted than the air outside. And this
is why,” says Hagström as he shows us
a close-up of a car driving along a road.
He explains:
“For a start, urban air pollution is
sucked into the car but in addition,
«For a device of this size, nothing
Clean drive
and most importantly, you have the
else can come anywhere near it
emissions from the exhaust pipe of the
vehicle in front of you. If that’s an old
truck, the emissions are very high and
they are coming through your car’s for efficiency and performance»
ventilation intake.
“Then you have the particles from
Frozen
PERHAPS IT WAS the small tufts of Surely there had to be a way to
Flying skyscraper cloud over the Mediterranean that
provided inspiration? In any case, it
make a tasty foam that would also
last? Around 2010, videos from
In what direction should a metropolis grow? Upwards? The architectural
was here at Cala Montjoi, out on El Bulli’s kitchen began to appear
air...
firm Clouds has turned conventional wisdom on its head with its latest
proposal. Instead of building skyscrapers from the ground up, they want the beautiful Cap de Creus on YouTube: Parmesan foam. Garlic
to turn things around and build from the top down. The Analemma Tower promontory,180 kilometres north froth. Clouds of frozen chocolate
would hang down from the sky suspended by cables attached to an of Barcelona, that puffs of air air. Foams created from every
asteroid, giving its tenants a daily round-the-world trip for free. The entered the world of cooking in a ingredient imaginable.
building has three sections: workplaces at the bottom; apartments in big way. This is the home of The secret? The common
the middle; and a place for “worship and funeral ceremonies” at the top.
molecular gastronomy and Ferran denominator? Lecithin powder.
What about electricity? No problem! The solar panels mounted on the
Adrià’s fabled restaurant El Bulli. Water. A stick blender. And a
... AND CULINARY
“roof” are above the atmosphere so there’s constant sunlight. And water
will be collected from the condensation of clouds. But what if the Air, they pondered. Foam...? freezer. TUFTS OF CLOUD
residents miss their relatives and friends? Simple, they will just Mixing in air when cooking is Nitrogenous lecithin is found
parachute to earth. hardly new. The humble whisk has naturally in egg yolk. Its main
long facilitated the making of cakes function is as an emulsifier, as any
and desserts. Without air, whipped margarine manufacturer or baker
«In tough times, some
06
Suits you, sir!
The BB.Suit is a world first: a one-piece suit that purifies
of us see protecting the
cream would not exist.
But this was the 2000s and
knows. But El Bulli’s chefs
demonstrated how a tiny sachet of
07
the air around the person wearing it. Using “cold plasma climate as a luxury, but El Bulli, which had practically lecithin, when added to the bowl, «Parmesan foam.
technology”, electrical threads woven into the garment
that’s an outdated view subscribed to three Michelin stars made it possible to get flavour into
transform oxygen and water into free radicals which in
turn bind toxic gases, bacteria, viruses and dust, creating a from a time when we for 20 years, had never been the stick-blended foam, while the Garlic froth. Clouds of
bubble of clean air around the wearer. It also boasts Wi-Fi thought industrialization
content with old culinary truths. heavy base (for example, Parmesan
frozen chocolate air.
Filter / New ideas
Filter / Food
Frothing sauces was nothing pulp) sank to the bottom. Then the
At El Bulli foams were
and GPS capabilities. The suit has been created by an
industrial design team at Eindhoven Technical University.
Apart from clean
air, the BB.Suit can
was the end goal and new either, but innovative mixtures airy foam was simply spooned into
wealth meant a thick created from every
However, they still have one problem to resolve – how to also provide Wi-Fi
and GPS
tended to curdle or dissolve into a container and frozen.
wash it.
haze of air pollution» little puddles or lack flavour, and it Unbelievably simple, unbelievably
Alex Steffen, American futurist.
was impossible to keep them. tasty. ingredient imaginable»
THE LEAF THAT
NEVER WITHERS
Researchers are learning how to imitate the
natural process of photosynthesis using
artifical leaves. By allowing sunlight to be
absorbed by semiconductors on a
SALMON IS GOOD FOR YOUR BREATHING membrane, positive and negative charges are PHOTO: DAVE STAMBOULIS/GETTY IMAGES
created that are then separated – positive on
According to the World Health shown that a diet rich in omega 3 and one side and negative on the other. When the
Organisation, air pollution is now vitamin C and E rapidly improves charges hit the catalysts on the membrane
the single biggest environmental our resistance to the types of illness surface, chemical reactions take place which
health risk in the world. And even if and chronic inflammations that are result in the water splitting into hydrogen gas
and oxygen gas. Chlorophyll, quite simply.
the world has woken up, don’t hold caused by particles in the lungs.
Further development is now underway at
your breath waiting for better air. You Salmon, vegetable oils, nuts and fruit Nasa, the Design Academy in Eindhoven in
still need to eat. Studies conducted will help you breathe more easily and the Netherlands and at Umeå University in
at Fudan University in China have live longer. Sweden.
Vertical
farming
INDOOR FARMING start-up Plenty has
developed a vertical greenhouse
with a difference. Unlike most
other vertical-farming companies,
Plenty grows its plants on vertical
towers instead of shelves. The
08 towers are made of recycled plastic 09
bottles, with water and nutrients
PHOTO: © JUSTIN KANEPS FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK
fed to the plants from the top down
as gravity takes care of the rest. All
of the water is collected and
recycled, while LED lamps bathe
Filter / Innovation
Filter / Design
the plants in light. The company
PHOTO: CLIMEWORKS
says its farms can get 350 times
more produce out of an acre of land
than conventional farming on just
1 per cent of the water.
The CO2 factory CO2-BUSTERS: Climeworks’
founders, engineers Christoph
CLIMEWORKS FINDS A COMMERCIAL UPSIDE Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher.
TO SUCKING DOWN CO2 «There are no walls
THE AIR REALLY IS CLEANER in Switzerland – and
if the world’s first plant for capturing carbon
But the company has more ambitious plans
up its sleeve. It is planning to sell its technology
in the atmosphere!»
dioxide directly from the air and selling it all over the world, with the carbon dioxide its – Kimberly Prather, distinguished professor and
distinguished chair in atmospheric chemistry at Scripps
commercially takes off, it could be for the rest of specially designed “collectors” (which look a lot
Institution of Oceanography, University of California,
us too. like aircraft turbines) suck out of the air being San Diego.
The Climeworks plant in Zurich has been used to make fizzy drinks or even fuel.
in operation since last summer and is already Climeworks’ vision is “to process 1 per cent
feeding carbon dioxide to a nearby greenhouse, of global carbon dioxide emissions by 2025”.
where it helps grow bigger vegetables. Our comment? Go for it! EXCUSE ME. WHAT IS
THE BLOOD OXYGEN OFO WHEELS OUT
LEVEL, PLEASE? SMOG-FILTERING
Unlike many smartwatches out there, BIKES
Fitbit’s is more fitness-first than First there was the smog-free
«If we pollute the air, VELVET REVOLUTION fashion-first. Yes, you can sync it with tower, which sucks in dirty air like
The world’s first hydrogen-powered your favorite apps, streaming services and a giant vaccum and turns carbon
water and soil that passenger train is set to start rolling in text messages. But fitness is where it into diamonds. Now Dutch
keep us alive and Germany this year. Developed by French
high-speed train maker Alstom, the Coradia
really flexes its muscle (and where it could
really be an Apple Watch killer). As you’d
designer and artist Daan
Roosegaarde has teamed up with
well, no amount of iLint will replace far less environmentally
friendly diesel engines, eliminating carbon
expect from the world leader in fitness
trackers, Fitbit has loaded the Ionic with all
Ofo, China’s Uber for bikes, to turn
its 20 million-strong fleet into
money will save us» emissions while making the trains much sorts of handy extras including mobile air purifiers. The bikes
quieter. First up are the German states of a workout assistant, heart rate sensor, inhale polluted air, clean it and
– David Suzuki, Canadian science Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, and perhaps most important of all, a blood then release it around the cyclists.
broadcaster and environmental activist. Baden-Württemberg and Hessen. oxygen sensor.
DZN HYDROGENASE BY VINCENT CALLEBAUT
Amazing
10 air facts 11
– did you know…
Air freight 2.0
… that oxygen melts at Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut has attracted a lot of
minus 218.79 degrees attention for his seaweed-powered airships, which are
Celsius (minus 361.82 obviously still at the drawing table stage. The futuristic
Filter / Oxygen
Filter / Art
degrees Fahrenheit). jumbo jets resemble giant seed pods. At 400 metres high
— and 180 metres wide, they can carry 200 tons of cargo and
During the past 50 years, fly at a height of 2,000 metres. Which might explain why
85 billion tons of oxygen have they are not particularly fast. Cruising speed is 175 km/h.
disappeared from the world’s
oceans because of global
But after slow food and slow TV, perhaps the world is ready
warming. That is equivalent to for slow air travel too.
an area the size of the EU.
—
47 % Shimmering
of the earth’s crust consists of
oxygen.
in the wind
Irish 3D printing design company Love & Robots has
— come up with the world’s first wind-sculpted jewellery,
We should be thankful that the a line of necklaces that give new meaning to the
PHOTO GEIR FLOEDE
level of oxygen in the expression “love is in the air”. The company has compiled
atmosphere today is 21 per weather data from the past 50 years so that customers
IMAGE: LOVE & ROBOTS
cent. Some 300 million years can see which way the wind was blowing at a particular
ago, when it was 35 per cent, a time and place, and freeze it in metal for eternity. They
dragonfly could have the
can pause the movement of the virtual material at any Welcome to Geir Fløde’s
wingspan of an eagle...
Up in the clouds
time before printing their personalised pendant in gold, fantasy world!
— silver or gold-plated brass.
Your body is made up of
two-thirds oxygen.
— THE SKY IS NOT THE LIMIT FOR GEIR FLØDE «I like to play
2.4 billion years
«Environment is SHIRT ALERT!
around with
Environmental awareness in the
- that’s how long we have had no one’s property fashion industry is increasing REALITY IS NOT SO INTERESTING for Norwegian artist He often gets inspiration for his pictures from
people’s
oxygen on earth. and photographer Geir Fløde. nature.
—
to destroy; it’s rapidly as regards materials,
manufacturing and recycling. “I like to play around with people’s senses so “I have always had the feeling that nature talks senses so they
In the entire history of everyone’s Now for the next step: clothes
that respond to their
they don’t really know what it is they’re looking to me. It’s almost as if we are in symbiosis with
don’t really
at,” he says. each other. Much of that interplay is reflected in
aviation, the oxygen masks
responsibility to
IMAGE: NIKOLAS BENTEL
on planes have never saved
environment. Nikolas Bentel, a
designer based in New York, has
The technology that Fløde uses is similarly my pictures. I want to get people to think about know what it
a single person. protect» developed a range of patterned high-flown. how much nature does for us, not least the air.
is they’re
– Mohith Agadi, philanthropist, shirts that change colour when “Every image actually consists of 5-10 images My pictures can be viewed as a message about a
author and film producer. they are exposed to polluted air. which I put together in Photoshop.” more sustainable and cleaner world.” looking at»
Fragrances are all around us and affect us Linda
smell from the first drops of rain in a
deeply. Yet it is so hard to describe them Landenberg
summer shower. This scent actually
in words. Fragrance consultant Linda Lives: Out in the country has a name, petrichor, derived from
Landenberg knows why near Sigtuna, just north of
Stockholm.
the Greek words for “stone” and “the
fluid that flows in the veins of the
Grew up: On Lidingö, an
island in Stockholm.
gods”. The distinct smell occurs when
something
“Memories of rocks and the the rain hits dry ground, releasing
lapping of waves constantly plant oils that have been absorbed by
echo inside me.” clay and rocks. Geosmin, a byproduct
What does a fragrance of certain bacteria, is also released
consultant do? “That’s a title
into the air from the wet soil. For city
that I have thought up to
describe how I work with
dwellers, these odorants rise up from
fragrances. I put together concrete and asphalt, too. Combine
courses, give lectures, work that with ozone if there’s lightning. We
with concept development, can smell the sweet yet pungent zing
13
in the air
and I also have my own even before it starts raining. The word
Text Hedvig von Mentzer perfume series: Linda
ozone, a form of oxygen, is also derived
Landenberg Parfums.”
Earliest memory of a
from Greek: ozein literally means ”to
fragrance: “It must have smell”. It emanates from fertilisers and
been something out in pollutants, as well as natural sources.
nature. Warm rocks. Spring. “Our sense of smell is our most
The power of smell
The smell of oak and water.” powerful sense because it is so closely
Favourite fragrance: “The
tied to our emotions,” Landenberg
fragrance of the person who
warms my heart, and of says.
course nature.” The subtle scent of decaying leaves
in the crisp autumn air is delightful
to some, depressing to others. Once
again, psychology comes into play.
WHEN WE SAY there’s something in of the brain. Our ancestors used their “A lot of people associate the musky
SCENT OF DANGER the air, we are usually talking about noses to find food in the vast pantry smell with the end of summer,”
tension, a feeling of unease that is provided by nature. Seasons still Landenberg says. “It’s back to reality,
One of the quirks of human nature is almost palpable. Or we could mean change and the scents with them. less daylight and more work. How
wanting to bring or recreate enticing rain or snow. But a lot of what we Each season has its own olfactory we perceive scents is a lot about
scents indoors. But mimicking Mother consciously register is to do with smell. energy, explains Swedish perfumer expectations. The shirt we wore on our
Nature may not always be a good
With every intake of breath, tiny and fragrance consultant Linda summer vacation smells not only of the
idea. According to research from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric molecules of odour flood our systems. Landenberg. “Spring stands for sun, but also of sun protection, sweat,
Association and University of Colorado We smell. The human nose is capable innocence, rebirth and hope. Life starts hormones and different detergents.
Boulder, products that contain of recognising thousands of odours, over, bursting with buds. Summer By sniffing the shirt, we’re magically
compounds refined from petroleum, but nearly all of the odour categories dances exuberantly, and its scents are transported back.”
like household cleaners, pesticides, are borrowed from a much more sweet and a bit powdery, while autumn In winter, our indoor air is scented
paints and perfumes, now rival motor
limited selection of taste terms. Smells is calmer and quieter. Winter is still, with candles, Christmas trees and
vehicle emissions as the top source
of urban air pollution – at least in Los are otherwise designated by reference collecting energy for the spring to cinnamon – perhaps to make up for
Angeles, where the study was made. from the object they stem from – come.” the lack of smells outside. “Molecules
Car emissions have got progressively grass, coffee, cinnamon. Our limited All living matter gives off a scent. move slower, our capillaries shrink,
cleaner due to regulation and, as a olfactory language hinders our ability And the scents differ depending on our bodies focus on something else
result, household products now make to describe in detail what we can smell where in the life cycle the matter when it’s really cold. Nature is resting
up a greater proportion of volatile
and how it smells. is. Close your eyes and think of the and there’s less to smell.” ●
organic compounds. Choosing water-
based paints and using cleaning sprays If the connection between smell and
sparingly could help reduce emissions,
while indoor plants make great natural
words is weak, the connection between
smell and memory is so much stronger.
«Our sense of smell is our most
filters and could help keep our homes
smelling fresh for years to come.
In fact, our sense of smell is the one
sense that goes straight into our limbic
powerful sense because it is so
system, bypassing the cognitive parts closely tied to our emotions»
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14 Bless you! 15
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Photo Philip Karlberg performance
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INDOOR SERVICE
Blueair Aware Did you know that exposure
to air pollution increases the
stress levels in our bodies?
An air purifier from Blueair Blueair Classic 680i
removes airborne pollutants
silently and efficiently.
how
it all
began
(chemical, biological, radiological
and nuclear) warfare. But then the
company decided to close down its
operations in Sweden.
“On the very day that I was
16 17
informed about the closure and I was
on my way home, I met Bengt in the
doorway. He had decided to start up
his own company in air purification
and he was going around meeting
lots of different people who could be
Mr Air Purifier
Mr Air Purifier
Text Niklas Wahllöf potential partners. And, well, I was
Photo Karl Nordlund only unemployed for half a day!”
Wennerström says.
Johan Wennerström is the brains behind THAT WAS WHEN BLUEAIR was founded, a
Blueair’s groundbreaking air purifier two-man operation with Wennerström
technology. And it all started off with a as production developer and Rittri as
managing director. So started an inten
chance meeting sive period of researching and testing
for Wennerström who wanted to
develop a filter system and purifier for
“LOOK! THIS HAS ONLY been in Addis Ababa Technology in Stockholm, where he the consumer market.
for one week!” had graduated as a civil engineer after “It took about six months but then
Johan Wennerström from Blueair specialising in heating and ventilation I discovered what is now known as
points at a pitch-black filter on his technology. HEPASilent™ technology and it is still
computer screen. The filter has been One day, a certain Bengt Rittri being used today,” Wennerström says.
inside an indoor air purifier in the came to visit. At that time, Rittri was The combination of mechanical
Ethopian capital. It shows both how working for Electrolux, the Swedish filtration and an encapsulated ion
Johan bad air pollution can be in some parts home appliance maker, which wanted particle charging chamber meant that
Wennerström of the world and how committed to collaborate with the university the air from Blueair purifiers has as
Born: 1962. Wennerström is to improving the air on an air purifier it was developing. much as 99.97 per cent of its airborne
Lives: Sollentuna, north that we breathe. Almost all of Blueair’s With his background in anything particles removed, or even more when
of Stockholm. air purifiers have been invented by and everything to do with filters, it comes to larger particles such as
Family: Wife, two adult him. Wennerström was the perfect man pollen. It is thanks to this technology
children, and his dogs. But let’s start from the beginning, for the job. However, it all came to that Blueair has grown to become the
Heroes/role models: “No.
because Wennerström was with nothing and the years went by. After company it is today. Yet Wennerström
But Bodil Jönsson [Professor
Emeritus of Physics] is a Blueair right from the beginning. As completing his licentiate degree, is nothing if not humble and
very wise woman! I also really is often the case, this story started off Wennerström joined the Stockholm unassuming. While he admits that he’s
liked Hans Rosling [Professor with a random meeting. office of a German company with “not bad at filtration”, at the same time
of International Health at During the early 1990s, Wenner- active carbon filters for ventilation he sees his role in Blueair’s expansion
Karolinska Institute] who ström was working as a researcher and systems and protective suits for and success as mostly down to chance.
sadly died last year.”
teacher at the KTH Royal Institute of decontamination after CBRN “I just sort of stumbled over this
INVENTOR
Johan
Wennerström
has constructed
almost all of
Blueair’s air
purifiers.
SIMPLE
TRUTH
«Dirty air in and
clean air out.
That’s it!»
19
Mr Air Purifier
Mr Air Purifier
«Some companies make machines that
add aroma, that spray things into the air the contrast between the first time he
was in Beijing in 1990, when everyone
to improve it, but to me that is not an air cycled and almost nobody drove a
car, and the terrible year of 2013. That
purifier» was when air pollution rocketed and
people could see how bad it was. The
really. My degree project was about He is adamant that all of Blueair’s air American embassy started to take its
particle filters and my licentiate thesis purifiers must meet four criteria: they own readings and pronounced it
was about gas filters, and then I just must have a low noise level; low energy “crazy bad”.
happened to meet Bengt.” consumption; be designed so that “The way the situation was then, the
His main interest is everything people will want to have an air purifier only thing you could do was buy an air
that is linked to buildings, especially in their living rooms; and then, the purifier. That was when things really
indoor climate: from heating systems thing that other engineers would took off for us,” Wennerström says.
to windows, incoming sunlight, perhaps have bragged about first, they
wind, ventilation and purification. must have as high a clean air delivery EVERYTHING WE DO produces pollutants
Everything is connected to the air. rate (CADR) as possible. and when there are a lot of people in a
“My fundamental idea has always “Another fundamental idea that small area more pollutants are created.
been that an air purifier must do is getting stronger and stronger over But even in “clean” environments,
precisely that, purify air. Not add time is that every new air purifier an air purifier is beneficial. A good
anything to it. Quite simply, our we develop must have its own story,” particle filter does not distinguish
indoor air must become cleaner. Some Wennerström says. between different particles and
companies make machines that add Blueair Sense is a good example. It can therefore reduce the spread of
aroma, that spray things into the air to has a glass top and instead of press- infectious agents in, for example,
improve it, but to me that is not an air ing buttons, you just move your hand healthcare settings.
purifier. For me, it’s all about dirty air over it. “So an air purifier is not only good
in and clean air out. That’s it!” “It has attracted a lot of attention for your health; it’s also good for
When Wennerström starts to and also won prizes for its design. No hygiene,” says Wennerström who loves
one else has an air purifier like it.” It took Johan Wennerström
explain his reasoning, it becomes fresh air of any kind. “For my part,
six months to develop Blueair’s
obvious how consumer-focused his Clean breathing air is Wenner the air in Stockholm’s archipelago is groundbreaking HEPASilent™
product development philosophy is. ström’s driving force. He remembers unbeatable.” ● technologyclean air 20,000
70
70 per cent of houses and
buildings in the West have
– healthier living
Every day we breathe in up to 20,000 litres problems with poor air
quality due to building
of air. With air purifiers we can control the air materials and construction
we breathe. methods.
We take 6 million breaths 20%
Your brain needs 20 per cent of your body’s
every year. Make every one oxygen. More oxygen brings greater clarity to the
20 of them count brain, improves your concentration, helps you to 21
think more clearly and has a positive effect on
3.8M your energy level.
50/50
62,000
3,800,000 people a year
It’s a fact
It’s a fact
die prematurely from
illness attributable to Emissions from common
household air pollution. household and industrial
products, such as perfumes, Half of America’s schools have problems linked to
2,5 μm
670,000 pesticides and paint, are as
big a source of air pollution in
indoor air quality, which in turn negatively affects
student performance.
In terms of their impact on human health, trees in urban
Los Angeles as traffic. The most dangerous air
areas are real lifesavers. In America alone it’s estimated that
particles are no bigger than
trees prevent 670,000 incidences of acute respiratory
symptoms.
40,000 2.5 micrometres (a millionth
of a metre). The particles
(PM 2.5) accumulate in the
The silent killer in your home: Scented lungs and can lead to serious
1970 candles and air fresheners are adding respiratory disorders.
7 AM to pollution inside homes that kills
40,000 people a year in the UK.
Research has shown that
when particle pollution
decreases, life expectancy
Rise and shine! One of the best
immediately increases.
Earth Day was introduced in 1970. Richard Nixon, reasons to run in the morning is
NB!
the US president at the time, introduced a Clean that the air is cleaner. Pollution is
Air Act that was rapidly followed by a Clean Water low, air quality is high, and you’re
Act. Those interventions have increased the feeling great. Indoor air is up to five times dirtier than outdoor air.
lifespan of millions of people, which actually This is due to chemicals in paints and other household
makes Nixon one of the most important products, as well as emissions from plastics. But
environmental players in history.
remember, it’s up to you to do something about it.
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK4
highlights!
The future belongs to architecture that improves
air quality instead of ruining it SÃO
RENDERING: INRESTUDIO
PAULO
The future of
Text Marc Johnson architecture.
3 4
22
LIUZHOU FOREST CITY
5
1 China Vertical forest
Italian architect
Stefano Boeri is best
known for his tree-
“A really smart city is not one that is
Green room
clad Bosco Verticale
dominated by technology; it’s one skyscraper project in
where biological diversity and Milan, technology that
multiculturalism continue to exist,” he has now brought
says architect Stefano Boeri of his latest with him to China.
creation – Liuzhou Forest City. This
Chinese town is being constructed
right now, with the facades of its
buildings covered in trees and plants
that will absorb almost 10,000 tons of
carbon dioxide and 57 tons of air
pollutants every year and in return
1 5
produce 900 tons of oxygen. Oh, we
forgot to mention the residents... When
construction is completed in 2020,
2 PLANTED TOWER TROPICAL OFFICE ROSEWOOD TOWER T5B
30,000 people will be able to live and
breathe easily in the green city. 2 OF NANTES 3 Ho Chi Minh City 4 São Paulo 5 Paris
“These vertical forests can be
replicated anywhere,” Boeri says.
The first thing you notice about this This green office building in the smog- When this 90 metre tall hotel opens Hotel complex with a facade, terraces
“I have absolutely no problem with
French housing project is the leafy afflicted Vietnamese metropolis of in São Paulo, it is not only the “caviar and suspended gardens that could
this idea being copied or replicated
trees growing in metal pipes on the Ho Chi Minh City has been designed lounge” that will catch the eye; have been designed by a cubist
elsewhere. I hope that what we have
balconies of the high-rise building. with an outer “skin” of steel rings and numerous plants will penetrate the sculptor. Greenery everywhere, right
done can be useful for other kinds of
Your own piece of forest, even if you planters for trees and plants, providing chequered facade of the building in the city centre. The architectural
experiments.”
live in a flat – a form of eco-luxury that protection from the sun and rain and grow inside the hotel complex. firm’s explanation: “We felt the need
Where: Liuzhou Forest City, China. everyone should have. while creating a feeling of energising Architecture that truly “speaks to the to create a green lung for the city.” We
Eco profile: The city will have all the greenery both indoors and outdoors. future”. are eagerly awaiting the inauguration
characteristics of an energy self-sufficient Where: Nantes, France. in 2022.
urban establishment: geothermal energy for Eco profile: Trees growing on balconies in Where: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Where: São Paulo, Brazil.
interior air-conditioning and solar panels over steel pipes provide cleaner air and constitute Eco profile: The plant facade of this office Eco profile: Hotel and culture complex Where: Paris, France.
the roofs for collecting renewable energy. a valuable biotope for insects and birds. building provides protection against sun covered with the same vegetation as the Eco profile: Hotel complex that creates a
Plants and trees of all sizes will cover every Architect: Edouard François. and rain and brings the forest to the middle surrounding park. “green lung” in the heart of the city through
building. of the city. Architect: Ateliers Jean Nouvel. extensive vegetation on facades and roofs.
Architect: Stefano Boeri. Architect: Inrestudio. Architect: Marci Architects.glass
act
CRYSTAL
CLEAR
Jennie Olofsson was
lying in a hammock in
Laos when she suddenly
realised she wanted
to be a glassblower.
Every year thousands of
tourists visit Jennie
Olofsson’s glass studio
on the Swedish island
of Gotland to buy a
24
piece of handblown art
– and to eat five-course
dinners cooked on
white-hot glass
Niklas Wahllöf
Interview
Text
Photo Bruno Ehrs
Jennie
Olofsson
WINTER ON THE EAST COAST of Gotland is loaded. Olofsson called it Big Pink experience, not only local farmers but
Age: 34.
an altogether different proposition because she wanted it to be a creative representatives from fancy restaurants
Lives: Norrlanda, Gotland.
Occupation: In 2015 Olofsson
from summer, when this island in hub, just like the upstate New York in New York would want to come
opened her own glass studio, Big the middle of the Baltic Sea between house where Bob Dylan and the here.”
Pink, where she makes a wide Sweden and Finland is drenched in Band’s Basement Tapes sessions took Sweden has a proud tradition
range of ornamental glass and sunlight. It’s dark even though it’s place (apparently The Band’s music of handblown glass and now it is
utility glassware. Her best-selling lunchtime, the wind is howling and is perfect for blowing glass to); she becoming trendy again, with a new
wineglass, Martall, has appeared
there’s driving horizontal rain. You can chose an English name because it’s generation of glassblowers breathing
on TV in the Swedish celebrity
singing show Så mycket bättre. feel the snow in the air that will come more international than Swedish; life into the industry. However,
Big Pink also has its own restau- any day now, covering the island in a and because the colour pink can be Olofsson originally wanted to be a
rant, Rot, under the management huge white blanket. associated with girl power. photographer. She was working as
of Luqaz Ottoson. However, inside an old whitewashed an assistant at a successful agency in
barn in Norrlanda it’s dry and warm, SUMMER IS WHEN all the tourists come. Stockholm at the time photography
with the shrieking wind replaced by Last summer, 3,000 visitors came to went digital, but when the darkroom
the soothing whirr of the propeller fan the studio over a period of five weeks. became Photoshop the craft aspect
gently spinning on the ceiling. Jennie And Olofsson chatted to every single of the job all but disappeared and she
Olofsson is walking around among one of them. became disillusioned. So she decided
rods and pipes, annealing in the orange “I want people to come. When I to travel instead. She would go away
glow of an enormous furnace. We’re set up here in 2015 people would say for months on end, come back home
inside her glass studio/cultural centre/ to me, ‘But Jennie are you going to to work and save money, and then take
restaurant... sit in out-of-the-way Norrlanda and off again. And then, 10 years ago, she
“That’s why I wear a hat! To keep blow glass? How will anyone find had an epiphany.
all my ideas inside my head!” she says you there?’ But I knew that if you “I was lying in a hammock in Laos
laughing. had an open workshop that offered and it suddenly came to me: ‘I’m going
The name of her studio is similarly people a genuine and vibrant cultural to be a glassblower!’ ”‘That’s why I wear a hat,
so I can keep all my ideas
HOT inside my head’
CUISINE
The food at Rot is
cooked on
750 C
glass
different types of glass and the history
behind it. But at its most basic glass is
made of sand, soda and lime. And air.
“The interesting thing about air is
that once you have added it there’s no
going back. You can’t suck it out again.
That’s why the blowing is the real
art: it’s about seeing, understanding,
judging, continuously watching and
regulating the air you add. That’s the
cool thing about air. When children
come here on a study visit and they
26
have a go at blowing a glass ball, I say
to them, ‘Now we’re going to shut in
your air! It will stay inside this ball
forever. It’s inside here like a little piece
of treasure.’”
Interview
ALWAYS OPEN TO NEW IDEAS, Olofsson’s
passion for glass has taken her in
unexpected directions. Last winter
a friend of her husband, chef Luqaz
«The interesting thing about air is that Ottosson, came to visit. He had a go
at blowing glass, they started to talk
once you have added it there’s no going and then he asked her if glass could be
back. You can’t suck it out again» used for cooking.
“We had a go at frying eggs,”
Olofsson laughs. “It wasn’t until the
ABSOLUT GLASS Olofsson’s face lights up like the twelfth egg that we got the temperature
furnace behind her. She describes right and the egg was perfect. So we
Glass was manufactured in Sweden
her long apprenticeship: glass college kept going, learning how to cook more
as early as the fifth century AD, but
then it was in the form of pearls melted
in Sweden, university abroad, work and more ingredients, and that’s how
and recycled using crushed glass from placements, jobs and the blowing, we ended up doing five-course dinners
imported Roman goblets. blowing, blowing. She describes how with all the food cooked on 750C
In the 1200s, glass was blown mainly her competitive nature drove her on glass. The evenings then turned into
for stained-glass windows. to start her own glassworks. She even a mixture of dinner and performance
Large-scale manufacturing of glass
goes into the ins and outs of being self- where, among other things, I smashed
started in the 1500s, when King Gustav
Vasa ordered wineglasses for the royal employed, the bank loans and running glass with my bare feet. That’s what’s
court. costs. so special about glassblowing: you can
Since then, Sweden has become But above all she talks about her never touch your material while you
world famous for both its utility passion for glass. are working with it, only afterwards.”
glassware and ornamental glass with “For me, glass is so many things; Despite the heat from the glass
internationally renowned brands like
it’s hard, dangerous, dirty, hot, sweaty furnaces which the propeller fan above
Kosta Boda, Orrefors, Rejmyre and
Skruf. work. And yet when it’s finished, our heads is pushing back down to
Founded in 1740, the glassworks in you’re left with something delicate, floor level, now and again gusts of
Limmared is the oldest in Sweden and fragile, nice to the touch, luxurious... cold winter air burst into the room.
where the bottles for Absolut Vodka I think that’s why I’m so fascinated by Olofsson says it’s a never-ending job
are made. glass.” going around sealing the old walls.
It takes months if not years to study “Air is never-ending; it always finds
the manufacture and production of its way in.” ● When children visit Olofsson’s studio she
teaches them how to blow glass: ‘Now we are
going to shut in your air. It will stay inside this ball
forever. It’s inside here like a piece of treasure’Frank
Gilliland
mind over
Age: 67.
Career: Dr. Gilliland is a leading investigator in
air pollution research, respiratory health and
cancer epidemiology, and gene-environment
interaction.
Environmental accomplishments:
particulate
“Demonstrating that air pollution
regulation has been successful in reducing
concentrations of pollutants in the air and
improving children’s respiratory health.”
28 matter
Air quality has a huge impact on children’s Based on his research, among
other things, the local authorities in
development. In Los Angeles, one of the most Los Angeles imposed stringent rules
polluted cities in the West, the problem is being to clamp down on emissions and
pollution. They focused primarily
tackled in a way that other cities can learn from
Science
on road traffic and the ports of Los
Text Martin Gelin Angeles and Long Beach, the biggest
Photo Ann Johansson cargo-shipping complex in the US. The
authorities also banned the burning of
FRANK GILLILAND IS a researcher of wood when the air in Los Angeles was
medicine and air pollutants at the
University of Southern California
particularly bad. Ten years later, the
proportion of children with asthma harmful effects on the brain at that age.
«A young brain is extremely sensitive
in Los Angeles, an idyllic campus in areas with heavy air pollution had You don’t get a second chance.” and poor air damages children across
surrounded by leafy forest and tall gone down by 30-40 per cent. When it comes to road traffic,
palm trees. However, just a few blocks “Asthma is associated with many Gilliland says there’s reason to be the whole spectrum»
away, you are hemmed in by the other problems for children. It leads to optimistic and notes the trend towards
freeways typical of southern California. them exercising less, which increases more eco-friendly cars. windows closed on days when the air
For a long time, Los Angeles was the risk of pathogenic obesity. In “We succeeded in reducing quality is poor.”
the city with the worst air pollution turn, a lack of exercise leads to them pollution in Los Angeles at the California is home to a lot of this
in the US. A thick blanket of yellow- learning less and developing more same time as road traffic increased sort of technical innovation. Another
brown smog often settled over the city slowly. It also increases the risk of dramatically, by almost 80 per cent. area where Gilliland sees a promising
in the afternoons, which meant that diabetes,” Gilliland says. That was partly because we controlled trend is technology for measuring
disappointed tourists could not even “Moreover, the poor air makes them other emissions, partly because we are pollutants and air quality in our
see the famous Hollywood sign high ill and children learn less if they are moving towards more eco-friendly cars everyday lives.
above the city. But over the past two ill. We have seen that there is a link and lorries.” “It is becoming cheaper and easier CLEAN AIR FOR CHILDREN
decades, the city has really got to grips between poor air and more children What should parents keen for their children for people to measure air quality in
Clean Air for Children is Blueair’s initiative
with pollution. One of the driving staying home from school. This is to breathe air that’s as clean as possible do? their own homes,” he says. “New to promote the health and well-being of
forces was to protect the millions detrimental both to children and their “All pollutants caused by road traffic products connected to the internet can the most vulnerable members of society
– children. Children are extra sensitive
of children who grow up in the parents who have to stay home from are particularly harmful so parents help generate data on pollutants in a
to air pollution as their lungs and brains
metropolitan area of Los Angeles. work. Additionally, there is more and with small children should try to stay whole housing area, in real time. When are still developing. And because they
“Many children had respiratory more research that has shown poor away from major roads. Above all, we have access to more information breathe more air in relation to their body
weight.
problems and stinging eyes but, above air and pollutants increase the risk of parents must play an active role in and better data on pollutants and
VOICE OF To help children lead healthier lives,
REASON all, our research showed that air neurological problems and autism. A local politics and push for changes their effects, it will hopefully lead to Blueair is donating air purifiers and face
Doctor Gilliland is pollution affects children’s long-term young brain is extremely sensitive and to improve air quality. There must be more preventive measures and more masks to schools, nurseries and children’s
one of the world’s development. It increased the risk of poor air damages children across the more political pressure. In the short local activism to improve air quality. hospitals around the world. So far, it has
leading experts touched the lives of 20,000 children.
in air pollution asthma and had a negative effect on whole spectrum, from the brain to the term, they can also use air purifiers in It should be a human right to breathe
research. their mental capacity,” Gilliland says. lungs, and it is hard to recover from their children’s bedrooms and keep healthy air.” ●blue-sky
Aerocene
For the past 10 years,
Tomás Saraceno has
imagined and proposed
different prototypes
thinking
for how to live in the air.
Cloud Cities, a long-term
research project, aims to
develop a modular and
transnational city in the
clouds.
31
«We live at the Buenos Aires. Many of his projects call
utopian architects such as Buckminster
Text Anders Bergmark
Photo Tomás Saraceno
bottom of an Fuller to mind. Like Fuller, Saraceno
has devoted his life to studying how
ocean of air nature’s constructions can be used
Flying high
for the good of humankind. He owns
and the space the world’s only collection of three-
above us is full dimensional spider webs and was the
first person to make large-scale models
of life» that emulate their silky habitats. One
of them is In Orbit in Düsseldorf.
“When we were thinking about
how we could portray floating
towns and create a new kind of
Uyuni; bolivia, 2006, © Tomás Saraceno.
urban infrastructure, we looked at
how spiders have developed their
own method of colonisation and
migration. It is a very simple technique
but it could provide radical, new
opportunities for life on earth and
The installation is called In Orbit perhaps on other planets too, for both
and it has been created by the humans and non-humans,” he says.
visionary Argentinian artist and
architect Tomás Saraceno. In numerous FOR HIS CLOUD CITIES project, which has
projects, installations, films and cross- been exhibited widely since the mid-
Artist and architect Tomás Saraceno predicts that SUSPENDED 25 METRES above the piazza disciplinary collaborations, Saraceno 2000s, he has concentrated on how
of the K21 art gallery, the former has investigated how human beings floating, modular towns will be created
one day we will live among the clouds. Offering a federal state parliament building in can create a sustainable future among in the future.
model for the utopian cities of the future, complete Düsseldorf, a surreal installation of the clouds. He says that we live at the One of his best-known works,
ropes, nets and floating spheres hangs bottom of an ocean of air and that the Aerocene, was unveiled at the UN
with floating ecosystems and fossil-free transport, like a giant cobweb between the walls space above us is full of life. climate change summit in Paris and
he argues that we must leave the ground for a new of the building. Visitors can move then launched among the dunes of
age, floating in a sea of air. He calls it Aerocene freely between the different spheres via SARACENO LIVES and works in Berlin New Mexico’s White Sands Monument.
wire tunnels and a dozen or so people but he was born in San Miguel de As the sun rose over the Chihuahuan
are climbing around the swaying Tucumán, Argentina. Before studying Desert on 8 November 2015, a floating
construction with varying degrees of to become an artist, he did a degree ball of lightweight black cloth warmed
nervousness. in architecture at the University of by the sun rose up to the sky as oneHEAVEN
CAN’T WAIT
Tomás Saraceno is
convinced that we will be
able to build cities in the air.
33
Flying high
Clouds; flight, 2012, © Tomás Saraceno.
In orbit; k21, 2013, © Tomás Saraceno.
IN ORBIT
What’s it like to live
among the clouds?
Tomás Saraceno
challenges us to free
our minds.
«Would we be of Saraceno’s co-workers hitched a
ride in a harness below it. It was the
“This is an age of ecological
awareness where we will learn how
ground. Together with scientists at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
to create a garden big enough for us to
live there permanently? Can we create
thing is that we dare to ask ourselves
how we want to live.
able to create a world’s first fully solar-powered, non-
fossil flight. Seventy years earlier, the
to float together and once again live in
harmony with the atmosphere and the
Saraceno has developed software
that maps out trajectories based on
an entire ecosystem floating among
the clouds? Solving these questions
“We humans are lazy; it’s easy to
hand over the future to someone else.
garden big enough detonation of the first nuclear bomb
had sent up a mushroom-shaped
earth,” he says.
Today, the Aerocene project has
atmospheric conditions and wind
currents.
is not just a technical challenge. It is
also a way of investigating freedom
But it’s important to get involved and
imagine new possibilities.”
for us to live there cloud over the same area, an incident grown to become an open platform As we know, air currents do not care of movement among countries and In the In Orbit installation at K21,
permanently?» regarded by many scholars as the
starting shot of the Anthropocene
that engages researchers and activists
all over the world. This has led to
for national boundaries. For Saraceno,
flying is a metaphor for freedom. He
bridging the political, social, cultural
and military restrictions in today’s
one visitor dares to jump in the net,
causing a young man at the other end
age. With his solar-powered floating the development of the Aerocene calls his floating towns “transnational society. The air belongs to everyone, to wobble a little. As Saraceno puts it,
sculpture, Saraceno wanted to Explorer, a starter kit for exploring the places”. not to any government.” “The world we live in may seem to be
mark the start of a new era that is skies that fits into a black rucksack “The larger the sculptures we build, We’re not able to build floating boundless but in actual fact we are
not characterised by violence and and is powered by the heat of the the higher they can rise. We can build towns like Saraceno’s yet, but he says mutually and irrevocably dependent
environmental pollution. sun and infrared radiation from the gardens in the air. Would we be able that’s besides the point. The important on one another.” ●You can also read
