Smog Free Tower by Daan Roosegaarde in Krakow, Poland

After Rotterdam and Beijing, the Smog Free Tower by innovative artist Daan Roosegaarde reached Krakow (Poland). The Tower is part of Roosegaarde’s larger oeuvre “Landscapes of the Future”, which connects people, technology and space to improve the quality of life in our cities.


Krakow is the starting point of a series of initiatives aimed at reducing air pollution in Poland. The Smog Free Tower was inaugurated a few days ago in the former capital of the country, today an important cultural centre and a popular tourist destination, especially thanks to its small historic centre, now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Here, as in all cities, air pollution represents a major problem, requiring concrete actions to improve the quality of the air. An example of this is the Smog Free Tower designed by artist and inventor Daan Roosegaarde, a 7-metre-high structure working like a huge smog vacuum cleaner and capable to purify 30,000 m3 of air per hour with a patented, ozone-free ion technology and very little green electricity. It can capture more than 75% of the PM2.5 and PM10 airborne smog particles, releasing clean air in a circular zone in its surrounding. 
After its tour in China (link), and with the support of the city of Krakow, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Museum of Contemporary Art of Krakow, the Smog Free Tower of Roosegaarde, already known to our readers for his technological and green land art works, reached this city park to create something more than a symbolic gesture towards a cleaner and more sustainable future. The project is part of “Landscapes of the Future”, an idea with which Roosegaarde wishes to connect people, technology and space to improve the quality of life in our cities.
Roosegaarde also designed the Smog Free Rings, created with smog particles collected by the Smog Free Tower and then compressed through a process similar to that leading to the formation of diamonds. By sharing the SMOG FREE RING, it is possible to donate 1000 m3 of clean air to the city.
The ring is exhibited and can be purchased at a pop-up exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art of Krakow (MOCAK), where a programme involving Daan Roosegaarde and local artists is also proposed, aimed at allowing the public to interact and share ideas to improve the quality of air of a city, and to make it a better place to live in.

Christiane Bürklein

Project: Daan Roosegaarde - https://www.studioroosegaarde.net/
Location: Krakow, Poland
Year: 2018
Images: © Studio Roosegaarde