top of page
Renewable bio-based circular material economies in timber, post-agricultural by-products and plant-based bioremediation
Add a Title
AMPS: PSAC II
PUBLIC SAFETY
ANSWERING
CENTER II
Yale CEA researchers (formerly as CASE) convened a large team, working for the last two decades on plant-based bioremediation strategies, to install the PSAC II system to test the production of fresh air from within an occupied office building.
Bronx, USA, 2017
team
collaborators
selected
publications
partners
Skidmore, Owings & Merill LLP (SOM), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), New York State Division os Science, Technology & Innovation (NYSTAR), New York City Department of Design and Construction (NYC-DDC)
Anna Dyson, Jason Vollen, Ahu Aydogan, Matt Gindlesparger, Jefferson Ellinger, Mandi Pretorius, Phoebe Mankiewicz, Paul Mankiewicz, Christina Ciardullo, Andreas Theodoridis
Proceedings of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting, 32d (2013)
Anna Dyson, Ahu Aydogan, Jason Vollen, Marianne Nyman, Jeffrey Bird (2013)
Public Safety Answering Center II, Bronx, New York
PSAC II, a building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), is one of New York City's emergency centers, designed to be self-sufficient in the case of an emergency. The importance of being able to operate without outside air was part of the imperative to investigate the ability to generate fresh air from within with the help of plant-based systems.
Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II)
Designed as a defensible and self-sufficient emergency center, the building is surrounded by an earthen berm. Life inside without many windows and with staff concerned with emergency preparedness can be stressful. Indoor vegetation can relieve stress, and good air quality can contribute to improved cognitive impacts and lower heart rates.
Large Scale Phytoremediation Wall Installation
The large scale installation of the Active Modular Phytoremediation System (AMPS) on-site inside PSAC II acts a zone scale testbed to measure the efficacy of phytoremediation systems at Architectural scale.
Plant Modules
The modular design of the phytoremediation system allows for scalable design strategies, redundancy, ease of maintenance, and targeted lighting strategies.
Mechanisms of phytoremediation
Volatile organic compounds are produced by building materials, finishes, and furnishings and are typically ventilated and replaced with air from the exterior, which must be heated and cooled in an energy intensive process. While plants have several mechanisms for removing air pollutants, the root zone of plants, known as the rhizosphere, contains diverse microoorganism communities which evolve to metabolize these compounds into harmless byproducts.
Building Integrated Phytoremediation System
Plant modules embedded within the wall are connected and integrated with building ventilation systems. Exhaust air is pumped into the ductwork as supply "fresh" air for inhabited office spaces.
HVAC Integration of Phytoremediation Systems
The green wall is supported by mechanical equipment which pulls remediated air through ductwork to supply fresh air to adjacent rooms.
Multiple Dimensions of Air Quality
The AMPS system is designed to address interdisciplinary aspects of air quality. Plant based systems contain microbial communities that can evolve to metabolize volatile organic compounds in indoor air produced by building materials and furnishings. Plants also photosynthesize, remediating carbon dioxide and producing oxygen indoors. Ongoing research also investigates the potential for plant-based systems to improve a building's microbiome for better human health outcomes.
Architecture as Laboratory
Every building is an experiment. This experiment however, is a living mechanism within the building, a test-bed continuously running, and designed to conduct air quality measurements for longitudinal and long term studies.
Modular Potentials, Free Standing Structures, and Spatial Organization
The current AMPS installation is but one of several potential designs. The double sided instances shown here are based on minimal surface, self-supporting structures design for aerospace applications which allow air flow both around and through plant modules. The double sided nature of these alternative designs, increase plant surface area and afford the potential for spatial organization, offering biophilic moments of rest between the leaves.
Alternative Potentials: Airflow Through Increased Surface Area
In this iteration, closely packed double sided walls offered increasing surface area to match larger spatial volumes. Air falls from diffusers at the window and once circulated through the space, enters through a greater number of plant modules.
Informed Design Decisions
Evidence-based design decisions saw the process of the design of the AMPS test-bed go through several iterations. Alternative strategies for increasing surface area might be absorbed through simple wall modulation.
A Sense of Place for Building Occupants
The plant wall at PSAC II has become a feature enjoyed by the regular occupants of the building, who eagerly await strawberry crops in the future.
Public Safety Answering Center II, Bronx, New York
PSAC II, a building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), is one of New York City's emergency centers, designed to be self-sufficient in the case of an emergency. The importance of being able to operate without outside air was part of the imperative to investigate the ability to generate fresh air from within with the help of plant-based systems.
Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II)
Designed as a defensible and self-sufficient emergency center, the building is surrounded by an earthen berm. Life inside without many windows and with staff concerned with emergency preparedness can be stressful. Indoor vegetation can relieve stress, and good air quality can contribute to improved cognitive impacts and lower heart rates.
Large Scale Phytoremediation Wall Installation
The large scale installation of the Active Modular Phytoremediation System (AMPS) on-site inside PSAC II acts a zone scale testbed to measure the efficacy of phytoremediation systems at Architectural scale.
Plant Modules
The modular design of the phytoremediation system allows for scalable design strategies, redundancy, ease of maintenance, and targeted lighting strategies.
Mechanisms of phytoremediation
Volatile organic compounds are produced by building materials, finishes, and furnishings and are typically ventilated and replaced with air from the exterior, which must be heated and cooled in an energy intensive process. While plants have several mechanisms for removing air pollutants, the root zone of plants, known as the rhizosphere, contains diverse microoorganism communities which evolve to metabolize these compounds into harmless byproducts.
Building Integrated Phytoremediation System
Plant modules embedded within the wall are connected and integrated with building ventilation systems. Exhaust air is pumped into the ductwork as supply "fresh" air for inhabited office spaces.
HVAC Integration of Phytoremediation Systems
The green wall is supported by mechanical equipment which pulls remediated air through ductwork to supply fresh air to adjacent rooms.
Multiple Dimensions of Air Quality
The AMPS system is designed to address interdisciplinary aspects of air quality. Plant based systems contain microbial communities that can evolve to metabolize volatile organic compounds in indoor air produced by building materials and furnishings. Plants also photosynthesize, remediating carbon dioxide and producing oxygen indoors. Ongoing research also investigates the potential for plant-based systems to improve a building's microbiome for better human health outcomes.
Architecture as Laboratory
Every building is an experiment. This experiment however, is a living mechanism within the building, a test-bed continuously running, and designed to conduct air quality measurements for longitudinal and long term studies.
Modular Potentials, Free Standing Structures, and Spatial Organization
The current AMPS installation is but one of several potential designs. The double sided instances shown here are based on minimal surface, self-supporting structures design for aerospace applications which allow air flow both around and through plant modules. The double sided nature of these alternative designs, increase plant surface area and afford the potential for spatial organization, offering biophilic moments of rest between the leaves.
Alternative Potentials: Airflow Through Increased Surface Area
In this iteration, closely packed double sided walls offered increasing surface area to match larger spatial volumes. Air falls from diffusers at the window and once circulated through the space, enters through a greater number of plant modules.
Informed Design Decisions
Evidence-based design decisions saw the process of the design of the AMPS test-bed go through several iterations. Alternative strategies for increasing surface area might be absorbed through simple wall modulation.
A Sense of Place for Building Occupants
The plant wall at PSAC II has become a feature enjoyed by the regular occupants of the building, who eagerly await strawberry crops in the future.
Public Safety Answering Center II, Bronx, New York
PSAC II, a building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), is one of New York City's emergency centers, designed to be self-sufficient in the case of an emergency. The importance of being able to operate without outside air was part of the imperative to investigate the ability to generate fresh air from within with the help of plant-based systems.
Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II)
Designed as a defensible and self-sufficient emergency center, the building is surrounded by an earthen berm. Life inside without many windows and with staff concerned with emergency preparedness can be stressful. Indoor vegetation can relieve stress, and good air quality can contribute to improved cognitive impacts and lower heart rates.
Large Scale Phytoremediation Wall Installation
The large scale installation of the Active Modular Phytoremediation System (AMPS) on-site inside PSAC II acts a zone scale testbed to measure the efficacy of phytoremediation systems at Architectural scale.
Plant Modules
The modular design of the phytoremediation system allows for scalable design strategies, redundancy, ease of maintenance, and targeted lighting strategies.
Mechanisms of phytoremediation
Volatile organic compounds are produced by building materials, finishes, and furnishings and are typically ventilated and replaced with air from the exterior, which must be heated and cooled in an energy intensive process. While plants have several mechanisms for removing air pollutants, the root zone of plants, known as the rhizosphere, contains diverse microoorganism communities which evolve to metabolize these compounds into harmless byproducts.
Building Integrated Phytoremediation System
Plant modules embedded within the wall are connected and integrated with building ventilation systems. Exhaust air is pumped into the ductwork as supply "fresh" air for inhabited office spaces.
HVAC Integration of Phytoremediation Systems
The green wall is supported by mechanical equipment which pulls remediated air through ductwork to supply fresh air to adjacent rooms.
Multiple Dimensions of Air Quality
The AMPS system is designed to address interdisciplinary aspects of air quality. Plant based systems contain microbial communities that can evolve to metabolize volatile organic compounds in indoor air produced by building materials and furnishings. Plants also photosynthesize, remediating carbon dioxide and producing oxygen indoors. Ongoing research also investigates the potential for plant-based systems to improve a building's microbiome for better human health outcomes.
Architecture as Laboratory
Every building is an experiment. This experiment however, is a living mechanism within the building, a test-bed continuously running, and designed to conduct air quality measurements for longitudinal and long term studies.
Modular Potentials, Free Standing Structures, and Spatial Organization
The current AMPS installation is but one of several potential designs. The double sided instances shown here are based on minimal surface, self-supporting structures design for aerospace applications which allow air flow both around and through plant modules. The double sided nature of these alternative designs, increase plant surface area and afford the potential for spatial organization, offering biophilic moments of rest between the leaves.
Alternative Potentials: Airflow Through Increased Surface Area
In this iteration, closely packed double sided walls offered increasing surface area to match larger spatial volumes. Air falls from diffusers at the window and once circulated through the space, enters through a greater number of plant modules.
Informed Design Decisions
Evidence-based design decisions saw the process of the design of the AMPS test-bed go through several iterations. Alternative strategies for increasing surface area might be absorbed through simple wall modulation.
A Sense of Place for Building Occupants
The plant wall at PSAC II has become a feature enjoyed by the regular occupants of the building, who eagerly await strawberry crops in the future.
Public Safety Answering Center II, Bronx, New York
PSAC II, a building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), is one of New York City's emergency centers, designed to be self-sufficient in the case of an emergency. The importance of being able to operate without outside air was part of the imperative to investigate the ability to generate fresh air from within with the help of plant-based systems.
Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II)
Designed as a defensible and self-sufficient emergency center, the building is surrounded by an earthen berm. Life inside without many windows and with staff concerned with emergency preparedness can be stressful. Indoor vegetation can relieve stress, and good air quality can contribute to improved cognitive impacts and lower heart rates.
Large Scale Phytoremediation Wall Installation
The large scale installation of the Active Modular Phytoremediation System (AMPS) on-site inside PSAC II acts a zone scale testbed to measure the efficacy of phytoremediation systems at Architectural scale.
Plant Modules
The modular design of the phytoremediation system allows for scalable design strategies, redundancy, ease of maintenance, and targeted lighting strategies.
Mechanisms of phytoremediation
Volatile organic compounds are produced by building materials, finishes, and furnishings and are typically ventilated and replaced with air from the exterior, which must be heated and cooled in an energy intensive process. While plants have several mechanisms for removing air pollutants, the root zone of plants, known as the rhizosphere, contains diverse microoorganism communities which evolve to metabolize these compounds into harmless byproducts.
Building Integrated Phytoremediation System
Plant modules embedded within the wall are connected and integrated with building ventilation systems. Exhaust air is pumped into the ductwork as supply "fresh" air for inhabited office spaces.
HVAC Integration of Phytoremediation Systems
The green wall is supported by mechanical equipment which pulls remediated air through ductwork to supply fresh air to adjacent rooms.
Multiple Dimensions of Air Quality
The AMPS system is designed to address interdisciplinary aspects of air quality. Plant based systems contain microbial communities that can evolve to metabolize volatile organic compounds in indoor air produced by building materials and furnishings. Plants also photosynthesize, remediating carbon dioxide and producing oxygen indoors. Ongoing research also investigates the potential for plant-based systems to improve a building's microbiome for better human health outcomes.
Architecture as Laboratory
Every building is an experiment. This experiment however, is a living mechanism within the building, a test-bed continuously running, and designed to conduct air quality measurements for longitudinal and long term studies.
Modular Potentials, Free Standing Structures, and Spatial Organization
The current AMPS installation is but one of several potential designs. The double sided instances shown here are based on minimal surface, self-supporting structures design for aerospace applications which allow air flow both around and through plant modules. The double sided nature of these alternative designs, increase plant surface area and afford the potential for spatial organization, offering biophilic moments of rest between the leaves.
Alternative Potentials: Airflow Through Increased Surface Area
In this iteration, closely packed double sided walls offered increasing surface area to match larger spatial volumes. Air falls from diffusers at the window and once circulated through the space, enters through a greater number of plant modules.
Informed Design Decisions
Evidence-based design decisions saw the process of the design of the AMPS test-bed go through several iterations. Alternative strategies for increasing surface area might be absorbed through simple wall modulation.
A Sense of Place for Building Occupants
The plant wall at PSAC II has become a feature enjoyed by the regular occupants of the building, who eagerly await strawberry crops in the future.
Public Safety Answering Center II, Bronx, New York
PSAC II, a building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), is one of New York City's emergency centers, designed to be self-sufficient in the case of an emergency. The importance of being able to operate without outside air was part of the imperative to investigate the ability to generate fresh air from within with the help of plant-based systems.
Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II)
Designed as a defensible and self-sufficient emergency center, the building is surrounded by an earthen berm. Life inside without many windows and with staff concerned with emergency preparedness can be stressful. Indoor vegetation can relieve stress, and good air quality can contribute to improved cognitive impacts and lower heart rates.
Large Scale Phytoremediation Wall Installation
The large scale installation of the Active Modular Phytoremediation System (AMPS) on-site inside PSAC II acts a zone scale testbed to measure the efficacy of phytoremediation systems at Architectural scale.
Plant Modules
The modular design of the phytoremediation system allows for scalable design strategies, redundancy, ease of maintenance, and targeted lighting strategies.
Mechanisms of phytoremediation
Volatile organic compounds are produced by building materials, finishes, and furnishings and are typically ventilated and replaced with air from the exterior, which must be heated and cooled in an energy intensive process. While plants have several mechanisms for removing air pollutants, the root zone of plants, known as the rhizosphere, contains diverse microoorganism communities which evolve to metabolize these compounds into harmless byproducts.
Building Integrated Phytoremediation System
Plant modules embedded within the wall are connected and integrated with building ventilation systems. Exhaust air is pumped into the ductwork as supply "fresh" air for inhabited office spaces.
HVAC Integration of Phytoremediation Systems
The green wall is supported by mechanical equipment which pulls remediated air through ductwork to supply fresh air to adjacent rooms.
Multiple Dimensions of Air Quality
The AMPS system is designed to address interdisciplinary aspects of air quality. Plant based systems contain microbial communities that can evolve to metabolize volatile organic compounds in indoor air produced by building materials and furnishings. Plants also photosynthesize, remediating carbon dioxide and producing oxygen indoors. Ongoing research also investigates the potential for plant-based systems to improve a building's microbiome for better human health outcomes.
Architecture as Laboratory
Every building is an experiment. This experiment however, is a living mechanism within the building, a test-bed continuously running, and designed to conduct air quality measurements for longitudinal and long term studies.
Modular Potentials, Free Standing Structures, and Spatial Organization
The current AMPS installation is but one of several potential designs. The double sided instances shown here are based on minimal surface, self-supporting structures design for aerospace applications which allow air flow both around and through plant modules. The double sided nature of these alternative designs, increase plant surface area and afford the potential for spatial organization, offering biophilic moments of rest between the leaves.
Alternative Potentials: Airflow Through Increased Surface Area
In this iteration, closely packed double sided walls offered increasing surface area to match larger spatial volumes. Air falls from diffusers at the window and once circulated through the space, enters through a greater number of plant modules.
Informed Design Decisions
Evidence-based design decisions saw the process of the design of the AMPS test-bed go through several iterations. Alternative strategies for increasing surface area might be absorbed through simple wall modulation.
A Sense of Place for Building Occupants
The plant wall at PSAC II has become a feature enjoyed by the regular occupants of the building, who eagerly await strawberry crops in the future.
Public Safety Answering Center II, Bronx, New York
PSAC II, a building designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM), is one of New York City's emergency centers, designed to be self-sufficient in the case of an emergency. The importance of being able to operate without outside air was part of the imperative to investigate the ability to generate fresh air from within with the help of plant-based systems.
Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II)
Designed as a defensible and self-sufficient emergency center, the building is surrounded by an earthen berm. Life inside without many windows and with staff concerned with emergency preparedness can be stressful. Indoor vegetation can relieve stress, and good air quality can contribute to improved cognitive impacts and lower heart rates.
Large Scale Phytoremediation Wall Installation
The large scale installation of the Active Modular Phytoremediation System (AMPS) on-site inside PSAC II acts a zone scale testbed to measure the efficacy of phytoremediation systems at Architectural scale.
Plant Modules
The modular design of the phytoremediation system allows for scalable design strategies, redundancy, ease of maintenance, and targeted lighting strategies.
Mechanisms of phytoremediation
Volatile organic compounds are produced by building materials, finishes, and furnishings and are typically ventilated and replaced with air from the exterior, which must be heated and cooled in an energy intensive process. While plants have several mechanisms for removing air pollutants, the root zone of plants, known as the rhizosphere, contains diverse microoorganism communities which evolve to metabolize these compounds into harmless byproducts.
Building Integrated Phytoremediation System
Plant modules embedded within the wall are connected and integrated with building ventilation systems. Exhaust air is pumped into the ductwork as supply "fresh" air for inhabited office spaces.
HVAC Integration of Phytoremediation Systems
The green wall is supported by mechanical equipment which pulls remediated air through ductwork to supply fresh air to adjacent rooms.
Multiple Dimensions of Air Quality
The AMPS system is designed to address interdisciplinary aspects of air quality. Plant based systems contain microbial communities that can evolve to metabolize volatile organic compounds in indoor air produced by building materials and furnishings. Plants also photosynthesize, remediating carbon dioxide and producing oxygen indoors. Ongoing research also investigates the potential for plant-based systems to improve a building's microbiome for better human health outcomes.
Architecture as Laboratory
Every building is an experiment. This experiment however, is a living mechanism within the building, a test-bed continuously running, and designed to conduct air quality measurements for longitudinal and long term studies.
Modular Potentials, Free Standing Structures, and Spatial Organization
The current AMPS installation is but one of several potential designs. The double sided instances shown here are based on minimal surface, self-supporting structures design for aerospace applications which allow air flow both around and through plant modules. The double sided nature of these alternative designs, increase plant surface area and afford the potential for spatial organization, offering biophilic moments of rest between the leaves.
Alternative Potentials: Airflow Through Increased Surface Area
In this iteration, closely packed double sided walls offered increasing surface area to match larger spatial volumes. Air falls from diffusers at the window and once circulated through the space, enters through a greater number of plant modules.
Informed Design Decisions
Evidence-based design decisions saw the process of the design of the AMPS test-bed go through several iterations. Alternative strategies for increasing surface area might be absorbed through simple wall modulation.
A Sense of Place for Building Occupants
The plant wall at PSAC II has become a feature enjoyed by the regular occupants of the building, who eagerly await strawberry crops in the future.
Image: Public Safety Answering Center II exterior view, Bronx, New York
gallery:
how can we partner with living systems to generate fresh air from within?
team
Anna Dyson, Jason Vollen, Ahu Aydogan, Matt Gindlesparger, Jefferson Ellinger, Mandi Pretorius, Phoebe Mankiewicz, Paul Mankiewicz, Christina Ciardullo, Andreas Theodoridis
partners
collaborators
Anna Dyson, Ahu Aydogan, Jason Vollen, Marianne Nyman, Jeffrey Bird (2013)
Proceedings of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting, 32d (2013)
selected publications
In 2018, the World Health Organization cited indoor air quality (IAQ) as the #1 global threat to public health due to its contributions to critical and diverse urban health challenges including allergies, depression, asthma, illness, and others. The Active Modular Phytoremediation System (AMPS) in PSAC II consists of a fan-assisted plenum that pulls air from the entryway atrium through plants, root-associated microorganisms, and hydroponic growth media. The metabolism of both leaves and root-associated microorganisms reduce indoor pollutants within the airstream while humidifying indoor air. Once it passes through the AMPS, air is then ducted to supply "fresh" air to inhabited spaces, thereby reducing human exposure to indoor pollutants. This building-integrated bio-remediation of typical airborne pollutants could improve occupant health, wellbeing, and productivity while reducing building energy costs.
download brochure >
The Public Safety Answering Center (PSAC II) Project in the Bronx is a closed access and secure facility that runs continuously without downtime. Limited access to exterior views and natural daylight makes the proposed AMP system an ideal application to improve the quality of well being for building occupants in addition to demonstrating the air cleaning capacity of this proposed system and the potential for reduction of the energy consumption profile. The installation and demonstration of a various range of air cleaning hydroponics plantings will be tested within the atrium.
Click here to enable sound.
video:
related research:
bottom of page