Air Shield Ebe Ọrụ Ọtụtụ Ebumnuche by Jung Joo Sohn and Barbara Young

Air Shield Ebe Ọrụ Ọtụtụ Ebumnuche by Jung Joo Sohn and Barbara Young is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz in Nhazi Ngwá Ụlọ Ọfịs Competition Category.

BronzNgwá Ụlọ Ọfịs· 2021

Air Shield Ebe Ọrụ Ọtụtụ Ebumnuche

by Jung Joo Sohn and Barbara Young

Client: Purdue University

Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz Winner in Ngwá Ụlọ Ọfịs Category

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The Design

About Air Shield Ebe Ọrụ Ọtụtụ Ebumnuche

N'ihi ọrịa nje Coronavirus, ọ dị mkpa ka ndị mmadụ nọọ iche iche iji chebe ibe ha. Otú ọ dị, nhazi ụlọ ọrụ nke oge a na-adabere n'iji ebe nke ọma nakwa nkwurịta okwu dị mma n'etiti ndị ọrụ. Ebumnuche nke ọrụ a bụ ịtụle otu ndị ọrụ ga-esi nọgide na-enwe mmekọrịta a na-ahụ anya ma nọgidekwa na nchebe n'ime nhazi ebe ọrụ dị adị, ma tụleekwa otu esi eji ihe ngwọta a n'ụzọ ga-adịgide ogologo oge mgbe ọrịa nje corona gasịrị. Air Shield bụ usoro igwe ikuku abụọ na nzacha nke a na-etinye nke na-eme ka ikuku dị ọcha ma na-echebe ndị nọ na tebụl ọrụ site n'igbochi mgbasa nje ọrịa site na mmegharị ikuku.

The Recognition

About the Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Bronz

Air Shield Ebe Ọrụ Ọtụtụ Ebumnuche meriri A' Design Award nke Bronz, nnabata dị oke ugwu e nyere design ndị pụtara ìhè nke a ma ama maka nzụlite ihe, ọgụgụ isi na nghọta. Ndị meriri na Bronz bụ ihe e mere nke ndị nwere nka nke ukwuu ma dị mma n'imepụta nke na-egosi ahụmahụ buru ibu, echiche na ọgụgụ isi nke ndị designer ha. A na-atụ anya na Air Shield Ebe Ọrụ Ọtụtụ Ebumnuche ga-abụ ihe a na-asọpụrụ nke ukwuu, a na-eto na a hụrụ n'anya, nke dị oke ọrụ ma dị ọhụrụ. Design a meriri A' Design Award nke Bronz na-agụnye ụzọ kacha mma n'ime nka, sayensị, design na teknụzụ, ma dị mma nke ukwuu maka nlebara anya ya n'obere ihe. Air Shield Ebe Ọrụ Ọtụtụ Ebumnuche na-emezu mkpa nke ọma, na-emetụ ọchịchọ aka, na-adọrọ mmetụta obi ma na-adọta ọchịchọ ịmara.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Air Shield is an attachable dual fan and filter system which serves to purify air and protect desk occupants by blocking pathogen transmission with air currents. Fan systems filter a variety of air impurities, good for mitigating pathogen transmission and reducing allergies, as well as providing mild white noise for acoustic privacy in open office systems.
Dimensions & Packaging: Air Shield is 57” wide, 31.10” deep, and 28.50” tall. The fan unit is held 0.5” off of the work surface by an adjustable clamp. Air Shield can be attached to any work surface over 57” wide, but it is illustrated on a custom-designed, adjustable height workstation that is 31.10” deep and can adjust between 28.5” - 42.00” high.
Tags: Workstation Design, Workplace Design, COVID-19, Air Purification, Air Flow, Air Curtains, Invisible Partitions, Fan Systems
Production Technology: The Air Shield housing is made of extruded aluminum with perforations and molded plastic end caps which are removable for ease in changing the primary air filter. Air Shield uses a dual-fan system to filter and circulate air. The outer fan blades are made of HEPA filters with customized Germ Defense material to purify the air. The inner fan is made from plastic. Both fans run on a motor. The steel screw-clamp is fitted with rubber pads to protect work surfaces.
Design Challenge: The inception of this project was to challenge the use of partitions for safely separating people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team speculated that after the pandemic had subsided, screens and partitions used to provide physical separation would be removed and sent to landfills, causing harm to the environment. Additionally, mixed recommendations about materials were presented fueled by research that showed the virus lived longer on hard surfaces which are, of course, easier to clean. The team was challenged to consider a workable solution that had benefits and uses beyond the COVID-19 crisis. The biggest challenge in working on this project was that the world was learning about the virus and how to mitigate transmission during the design process. Many theories were proposed, and adopted by government officials, based on known science but there was not enough time to deeply study the behavior of the virus in different conditions. The filtration fan system was developed to purify air. Existing filters are mainly designed to work with vertical fan circulation and are large in diameter. Using this type of filter would result in an imposing fan system on the desk. The compact size of the fan was maintained by combining the filter and fan function.
Research: Air Shield is the product of a cross-discipline collaboration between a product designer and interior designer to explore resilient, non-temporal, solutions that mitigate the spread of pathogens in workplace environments. Considering a product with potential uses and benefits during and after the COVID-19 pandemic was a primary goal. The team reviewed existing design recommendations for office solutions that mitigate COVID-19 transmission and compared those to global workforce surveys which aggregated perceptions of working-from-home, the desire to return to the office, and perceived obstacles of both. Findings from workforce surveys indicated a continued desire for face-to-face collaboration, especially for those who experience difficulties working from home. Respecting that many companies recently moved through extensive change-management projects to promote social settings, visibility, and interaction in the workplace, flexibility with existing furniture systems and maintaining social aspects of company culture became additional drivers to the solution. Indoor air quality with increased ventilation and air filtration also presented as being of high importance for health, safety, and well-being in interior environments. As such, product ideation began around concepts of on-demand fresh air or filtration systems. The team drew inspiration from healthcare and warehouse environments where air curtains are used to control and contain harmful interior particulates. The final flexible solution provides a sense of safety for people working at their desk environment by helping to contain the spread of airborne pathogens with added “white-noise” acoustical benefits.
Inspiration: Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, people should maintain physical distance to protect each other. The layout of the modern office, however, depends on space efficiency and communication with other co-workers. The goal of this project is to consider how employees can stay visibly connected while remaining protected in existing workspace layouts and consider how to use the solution sustainably after the corona pandemic.
Project Duration: The project was started in May of 2020 in the United States of America and substantially completed in July with continual updates and revisions.
Operation Flow: Air Shield is easily installed and removed with two screw clamps. A simple push-button operation on the lower right-hand side of the unit powers on/off the Air Shield fan. Motion sensors detect when other people are present to start the air-flow. For example, if someone is sitting on the left side, Air Shield detects them and activates the air curtain from the left side.
Team Members: Jung Joo Sohn
Barbara Young