The Danish team of Studio Roosegaarde has designed a lamp that can disinfect spaces using far-ultraviolet (far-UVC) light that is harmless to humans, thus reducing the spread of coronavirus in public spaces.
The lamp called Urban Sun might also help make outdoor events, such as the Olympics or the Biennale, safe, but designers say that the device could also be remarkably useful at public transport stops.
According to Studio Roosegaarde, the lamp can make the air virus-free in two minutes, however, a study from November suggests that it can take up to 11.5 minutes for this light technology to sanitize the air.
As soon as Dezeen has published the studio’s plan, the comment section was flooded with skeptical opinions, prompting the magazine to revisit the studio with a number of technical questions. The designers’ responses show that the lamp, in its current state, is only effective outdoors and after dark, which—given that the virus spreads indoors the fastest—challenges its relevance. The designers, however, added that further improvements will be made in the near future.
Twenty years of typography—ArtHungry’s call and publication series has started
In the intersection of the cosmos and photography | Łukasz Żak
