A team of designers at EcoLogicStudio has harnessed the power of algae, which produces a majority of breathable air by purifying it and enriching it with oxygen, to develop a natural air purifier for the home.

Recently unveiled at Milan Design Week, the AIReactor from EcoLogicStudio is a 3 ft tall structure that features a recycled birch plywood frame and a glass photobioreactor at its core that contains green liquid packed with microalgae cultures.

Source: EcoLogicStudio

Taking a cue from photosynthesis — wherein algae naturally convert carbon dioxide and pollutants into clean oxygen — the AIReactor pumps air into the bioreactor and replicates natural water currents to encourage algae growth. As the algae undergoes photosynthesis, they filter out harmful pollutants, thereby leaving behind cleaner air.

“In addition to capturing pollutants, the microalgae cultivated in AIReactor can be harvested and utilized to produce biopolymers for 3D printing products,” the studio explained. “After harvesting, the algae biomass can be dried and then undergo further processing to produce biopolymers, which are natural polymers derived from renewable plant-based sources.”

Creating products derived from these biopolymers via the air filtration process, the studio recently launched its PhotoSynthetica collection from AIReactor, which so far includes a stool and a ring.