New skyscraper cleans polluted city air in the same way as 48,500 trees

Renowned architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) presented a design for a new skyscraper that could...

capture carbon and actually clean the airaround buildings. The Urban Sequoia concept was created to commemorate the recent UN climate change conference COP26 in Scotland.

The design of the skyscraper provides for a large percentage ofglazing and greenery. It is planned that it will be created from environmentally friendly materials - hemp concrete, wood and bio-concrete. The goal is to reduce the carbon footprint of construction by 50% compared to traditional materials such as concrete and steel.

Miysis

The skyscraper of the Urban Sequoia project will becapture up to 1,000 tons of carbon per year—this is equivalent to the “work” of 48,500 trees. The buildings will be equipped with integrated carbon capture technology. In the future, entire “forests” of such skyscrapers could change the air in cities.

The captured carbon can be used invarious industrial applications, completing the carbon cycle and creating the basis for a new method of removing it from the air, the authors of the project note. With integrated biomass and algae, facades can turn a building into a biofuel source for heating systems, cars and even airplanes. It is estimated that global construction today accounts for nearly 40% of all CO₂ emissions in the world.

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