By Kimberley Mok, Source: Treehugger

Beijing’s notorious air pollution has reached beyond hazardous levels in recent years, with the city covered in thick, toxic smog for a good part of the year. While the Chinese government has implemented various pollution-battling policies like car bans and the planting of green roofs, others like London-based design firm Orproject have gone down the road of more extreme design measures — suggesting the building of bubble-like biomes, sealed from outside pollution, that would allow residents to actually breathe clean air.

Dubbed Bubbles, Orproject is proposing a series of transparent domes that are made with ETFE plastic, the same kind of material used for Beijing’s aquatic stadium during the 2008 Olympics. Not only is the material economical, flexible and durable, it also allows for a 30 percent reduction in energy costs in terms of heating and lighting (we’ve already seen ETFE used in greenhouses and other institutional applications).

Read the full article at: Treehugger