Jerman Cheung
East Asia Press Office,Hong Kong
The City Air Purification System (CAPS) , designed by Arup and Sino Green, won the second prize at the CIC Innovation Award.
The award ceremony was held at the Government House on 15 December, hosted by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, CY Leung.
CAPS is a device that can be attached to a canopy structure in a traffic-polluted environment (e.g. a bus shelter or building facade) and used to create a cleaner, enclosed environment for waiting commuters. A fan draws in roadside air from an inlet at the bottom, and then the air current passes through a filter to remove particulate matter before being pumped out of a louvre air vent overhead. This creates an air curtain that covers the underside of the canopy and keeps further polluted air out of the protected space. Empirical data show an average reduction of 50% in the concentration of air pollutants.
The judging panel, comprising a diverse group of local and overseas experts, was impressed by the potential impacts and applicability of CAPS.
“CAPS is the result of the ventures of an innovative way to solve important problems, and collaboration between Arup and Sino Green. We are very honoured to receive this accolade, which is a significant recognition of our continuous research and investment to translate creative and innovative ideas into real projects.
-Dr Jimmy Tong, Arup Associate
A prototype, fabricated in the form of a bus shelter, was launched in March 2015 and first installed at one of Hong Kong’s busiest districts, Wan Chai, for on-site roadside testing to validate the system performance. Having verified the system performance of the prototype during its operation in Hong Kong, the prototype has now been donated to Tsinghua University in Beijing for further research and study.
Organised for the first time by the Construction Industry Council (CIC), the award aims to spearhead development of new concepts to enable continuous enhancements in Hong Kong’s construction industry, and recognise new technologies and scientific breakthroughs, as well as achievements in research and innovation.