Bel-Air is the work of French designer and architect Mathieu Lehanneur, in collaboration with David Edwards, of Harvard University. It is an aluminum and Pyrex (that is, borosilicate glass) box, about 50 cm high, containing plants selected on the basis of their ability to act as filters and absorb toxic gases, such as gerbera or philodendron.
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Human imagination and creativity have no limits. Think for example of this curious object, whose function is difficult to immediately grasp: it could be confused with a design element, a sort of home spacecraft to satisfy original and somewhat demanding interior designers and customers. And instead we are faced with a creation designed specifically for improve the quality of our life. Or rather, to be precise, to purify the air in our domestic environments.
Bel-Air is the work of the French designer and architect Mathieu LehanneurIn partnership with David Edwards,Harvard University. It is a "box" in aluminum and Pyrex (that is, borosilicate glass), about 50 cm high, containing plants selected on the basis of their ability to act as filters and absorb toxic gases, such as gerbera or philodendron. A kind of home mini-greenhouse that allows, thanks to the leaves and roots of the plant, to purify the air from harmful elements. As happens with purification lamps, the operation of Bel-Air is analogous to that of a vacuum cleaner: attracts toxic particles by which we are daily surrounded and of which we do not even notice (like i volatile components released by the furniture and furnishings that decorate our homes) and, consequently, makes the air in our interiors more breathable and healthy.
Mathieu Lehanneur said he first came up with the idea of an air purifier after learning about one NASA research. According to the results of this research, the tissues of the bodies of the astronauts returned from the first space mission were contaminated by a high level of toxic particles, as if the materials of which the spacecraft was made (plastic, glass fibers and other insulating and flame retardant substances) were slowly poisoning them. Likewise, the construction materials and furnishings of the interiors of our homes can, over the time, release toxic gases and particles into the air (such as trichlorethylene and formaldehyde).
Taking into account that in Western countries life becomes more and more sedentary (think that Americans spend on average the 90% of your time indoors), the idea of a purifier such as Bel-Air, however curious (it remains to verify the actual functioning of the product) it can have its usefulness and its importance. Find out more and find out if Bel-Air really convinces you, you can take a look at the site of its author, from which the image in the upper left is also taken (the product is number 21 in the long list of Lehanneur's highly original creations).
Lisa Vagnozzi
