Developed by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA, Pleura Pod is a wall system, in which architecture and nature coexist. The term “pleura” is used in biology to describe a thin membrane covering the lungs of mammals, a membrane with closed cavities containing a small amount of fluid that minimizes the friction of respiratory movements.

Learning from nature, the research team explored a wall assembly with small cavities filled with algae and through which air is circulated, with the algae transforming carbon dioxide (CO2) into oxygen (O2). The Pleura Pod system consists of three layers – the algae pod, specifically developed air bags, and codified units of computer fans – all interacting with each other to purify the air. The wall acts, so to speak, as a “lung” allowing the building to breathe.

Read project feature in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)