There has come a futuristic design from Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) that aims to make a skyscraper that will be able to absorb carbon from the air and clean the air around it. The design is named Urban Sequoia and it marked United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference in Scotland.
The building will be made up of eco-friendly materials like hempcrete, timber, and biocrete. This step will decrease the carbon impact of construction by 50 percent when compared to regular steel and carbon-based materials.
The design is at its preliminary stages. It is for sure that the skyscraper would sequester up to 1,000 tons of carbon per year, which it says is equivalent to 48,500 trees. The integrated carbon capture technology will be like the Orca, but on a wider and bigger level. in the future, it is expected for all the skyscrapers to be built on this concept and make the urban environment clean.
“This solution allows us to move beyond net-zero to deliver carbon-absorbing buildings, increasing the amount of carbon removed from the atmosphere over time,” says SOM. “After 60 years, the prototype would absorb up to 400 percent more carbon than it could have emitted during construction. The captured carbon can be put to use in various industrial applications, completing the carbon cycle and forming the basis of a new carbon-removal economy. With integrated biomass and algae, the facades could turn the building into a biofuel source that powers heating systems, cars, and airplanes; and a bioprotein source usable in many industries.”
This building will take a long time to be constructed. Currently, the construction industry is making up 40 percent of the global carbon emissions which is only going to increase. Another alternative is the making of timber buildings that also conserve the environment.