Urbanization is the word of our times. In 1950 only30% of the world’s population lives in the city but it is projected that by2050 over 70% of the global populations will be urban dwellers. With such rapidgrowth cities are faced with undaunting levels of pollution unheard of just acentury ago. As architects and designers we are entering into a new era ofenvironmental thinking that has to either help our planet, recycle some of ourcreations and consider the biosynthesis of humans with nature; this is aphilosophy call Biophilic Designs.

Furniture has always been one of the most vibrantdiscipline in design as it is comparatively unlimited in its physicalrestriction thus leaving more leeway to push for innovation. There are manyup-cycle creations, environmental conscious ideas and even some that biomorphswith part of our body. But I wonder, what if a piece of furniture that can helpyour well-being as well as the external environment while still looking good inany given situations. Working with our partners in Italy for over 2 years we havefinally came up with solution that can use Light and Air, 2 elements providedin abundance by nature, to clean our environment of toxins and bacteria!

Traditionally photocatalysis is a process that usesnano-particles such as Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) to clean VOC such as CarbonDioxide, Nitrogen Dioxide and Formaldehyde via the activation of UV rays suchas the sun. In addition, the hydrophilic nature of the treatment causes waterthat comes into contact to form an even layer, thereby allowing the dust anddirt that have accumulated on the surface to be washed away automatically.While this process was revolutionary as an architectural material it is verylimited due to UV rays being harmful in long term exposure to human skin. Whatour patented treatment only needs are any present interior/exterior lightingand circulating air thus eliminating the danger of direct UV rays exposure andcan work inside any spaces of a building. This specialized treatment can beapplied to any surface and is Non-toxic and Bio-degradable.

Our design, FOGLIA (meaning a leaf in Italian) was inspired from nature’s process of Photosynthesis. During the day when FOGLIA is placed near any natural light it will work to clean the surrounding environment while during the night when the light is switched on, the cleansing action will continue. The light is also equipped with dimmable WiFi App and can be changeable to 17 million colors (optional system upgrade from standard version). There are a series of screens that can magnetically click onto the openings of the lamp thus giving the design infinite customization possibilities to any interior. All accessories are also photocatalytic treated thus increasing the environment cleansing ability of the design. The Effective Cleansinig Area (E.C.A) of FOGLIA (Large @ 172cm tall) is approx. 4sqm and for FOGLIA (Small @ 62cm tall) is approx. 1.3 sqm. The design is entirely Handmade in Italy and World Wide Patented.

It is the world first environment cleansing furniture that makes you and your family live healthier and happier but also a design that can work on mass to clean our planet. We believe furniture has to be more then just a nice piece of functional art/design and we hope that FOGLIA will lead the way for a new generation of environmental living that any health conscious individuals or environmental planetarian will love to have.


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