Design

How Design Students See Gadgets Grappling With the Future of Urban Pollution

Breathing walls, noise-to-music converters, and more.
Jeabyun Yeon/Electrolux

Air filtering plants. Air filtering walls. Air filters hanging from the ceiling, and pinned on backpack straps.

If the 20 semi-finalists in the 2013 Electrolux Design Lab competition are any guide, the next generation of designers sees air pollution as a primary challenge of 21st century urban life.