Clean the air

A Russian architect hopes to realise his dream of a skyscraper that can filter dirty air - but is it just a pipe dream?

"When I read the news about people selling oxygen in canisters in Chinese cities... I think sometime as early as 2025, my project will be realised," says Russian architect Alexei Umarov, 31, the man behind the idea of a skyscraper which he says could clean the polluted air surrounding it.

Alexei lives in the Russian city of Khabarovsk on the border with China. He says that his project, the HyperFilter skyscraper, looks something like a giant tree, which he claims can suck in and purify the city's polluted air.

He is not the only visionary to be seduced by the desire to construct smog-eating buildings.

Many architects have been attracted to the idea of using materials and devices which could play a part in removing impurities to improve the air we breathe.

One of the most high-profile is the Dutch designer Daan Roosegaarde, who has created towers in cities like Beijing which have been billed as filtering impurities in the air.

The fact that no serious evidence exists that such constructions can make a significant dent in pollution levels has not stopped architects from taking out their pens and getting down to the design board.

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