Safezone Shelter

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About the city. In accordance with the World Air Quality Index of 2019, the city of Bangkok suffers from harmful ranges of air pollution most of the calendar year.

Goal

Safezone Shelter is an ephemeral intervention, it’s aim is to purify the air and provide comfort for people, while also raising awareness about “air pollution”, which becomes a critical concern for many societies.

Implementation period. Safezone Shelter was put on display from December 2019 to February 2020.

Fact

In Bangkok, according to the World Air Quality Index of 2019, it has 54% of total days in a year in which particulate matter (PM) was measured over WHO’s standard level, threatening over one-third of inhabitants.

The city has constantly been facing “Urban Heat Island Effect” from a large amount of hardscape and skyscrapers with inadequate green space.

Solutions

Inspired by “cloud,” the pavilion was designed in a futuristic form, depicting a clean refreshing atmosphere, and also forming a pleasant Microclimate by equipping vegetation and engineering technology together.

First, hot dirty air is pulled inside by a fan, passes through rows of trees and shrubs which capture dusty particles, as well as ground-covering plants which absorb toxic substances. After that, the pre-filtered wind flows through the dust filter plate and the cooling plate consequently, and come out as a purified breeze at the end. As providing comfort is also another important circumstance, various techniques are adopted to keep the shelter’s interior temperature at around 22-29 degree Celsius, suitable for Thailand’s tropical climate.

They include using fans to release heat and create airflow, wrapping Nylon clothes around the structure to get an interior light with diffused blurry effect – friendly for eyes, and operating the humidifier to maintain 50-70% humidity level. In addition, natural scents from plants, and experimental music – made up of nature-like sounds is employed to provide a soothing experience while walking inside the pavilion.