Chandigarh youth’s ‘tower plan’ to kill Delhi smog makes global waves

Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 4

Delhi’s toxic smog has exercised the minds of many a problem solver, but a solution may finally be in sight. Chandigarh-born architect Najmus Chowdhry has developed a unique project that involves a network of giant towers which will absorb Delhi’s polluted air and belt out breathable one. 

Entitled “The Smog Project”, Chowdhry’s design, developed under the aegis of Dubai-based architecture firm Znera Space, has been shortlisted for the World Architecture Festival 2018 award in the category of “Experimental Future Project”.

“The award is for proposals that challenge conventional thinking and the smog free tower model is competing with five others,” said Chowdhry, principal architect of the project, which proposes a grid of 100-m high towers across Delhi to kill noxious air.

A regular to Delhi, where he spent his formative years, Chowdhry says he has been at pains to think of the lack of government action to address the city’s pollution crisis.

“Sun as a renewable source of energy is used in our project to produce electric energy and hydrogen from splitting water of Yamuna provides the energy source to propel the towers. To improve Delhi’s air quality, the proposal aims at adding a network of smog filtering towers through the city. The hexagonal grid follows the urban grid of Lutyen’s Delhi and each tower is meticulously placed at the key city node. The model can also be replicated in Agra,” Chowdhry explains. The planner says the erected tower creates a volume of semi-clean air within a diameter of 2 km.

“The arrangement comprises vertical air cleaners and a sky bridge which contains hydrogen-generating cells to power the towers. The towers are designed to remove smog and contaminants from the air. The towers comprise a filtration pod at the base and air propellers at the top which provides smog-free pure air to breathe,” says Chowdhry, who went to Vivek High School, Chandigarh.

Each smog tower under the project will produce more than 3.2 million cubic metres of clean air per day.  It will be known on November 30 if the Smog Project wins the award.