Andrea Polli: Particle Falls

Although air is invisible, it has a major impact on public health. In London, early results of a recent study commissioned by the mayor suggest that 4,300 people die prematurely every year as a result of poor air quality in the city. Despite the invisibility of air, modern sensors can detect tiny particulate pollution levels in real time.
Particle Falls is a real-time, environmentally reactive projection that allows viewers to see current levels of fine particulates. The project was first presented for 6 months as a 60ft digitally generated waterfall cascading down the facade of the AT&T building in San Jose California. The project includes a nephelometer (donated by MetOne in collaboration with Sonoma Technologies/AirNOW), which measures the smallest particle, PM2.5. The global monitoring of this particle is one of the most recent developments in aeronomy. Fewer bright particles over the waterfall mean fewer particles in the air.

'Particle Falls' was produced and presented in the framework of Connecting Cities In/Visible City 2015.