
AirBubble restorative space: A biotech garden for physical and mental healthcare.
Marking a new development in their long-term research on urban well-being, ecoLogicStudio, a London- and Turin-based design innovation firm, completes the third iteration of their AirBubble design concept.
Conceived for a Swiss consumer healthcare company, the restorative space establishes a new symbiosis between nature and humans.
World first

The AirBubble is in the green area surrounding the factory grounds, as part of a wider vision called AirCampus.
The AirBubble restorative space is the world’s first biotechnological healthcare garden. It combines air-purifying algae cultures with medicinal plants.
The project pioneers a new spatial concept balancing work, mental and physical health, relaxation and interaction among employees from diverse departments.
Moreover, it offers a multi-sensory experience enhanced by the oxygen bubbling and the scents of fresh herbs and flowers.
Wider vision
Located in Nyon, Switzerland, in the green area surrounding the factory grounds, the project is part of a wider vision called AirCampus. It includes:
- A new AirBubble restorative space.
- AirOffice, a symbiotic indoor workspace combining advanced gardening and air filtration.
- The recently launched AIReactor, the biotechnological desktop air-purifier.
AirCampus is conceived as a pioneering architectural solution for health and well-being in the workplace, from indoor to outdoor spaces and from physical to mental health.
Improving workplaces
As a bio-design innovation project, the AirBubble restorative space is a replicable and scalable architectural system that can be installed into any work environment globally.
The project brings a new perspective to the relationship between workplace and landscape design by reinventing the model of the pre-industrial botanical garden.
“We researched the origins of pharmaceutical manufacturing by studying the medicinal garden of Padua in Italy, where medicinal essences and plants were grown as part of a community park. We then translated this concept into the bio-digital era, where substances can once again be cultivated in the public realm,” says Marco Poletto, co-founder of ecoLogicStudio.
Biotechnology

The middle section of the wooden structure hosts 36 large bioreactors in borosilicate glass.
The AirBubble integrates PhotoSynthetica™ technology, developed in 2018 by ecoLogicStudio. In 2021, the company began exploring how to integrate biotechnological systems into architecture, interiors and landscape design.
The aim is to engage users in various phases of the air purification process, highlighting its benefits for human health, well-being in private and workspaces, and creating new green areas within factory production plants.
AirBubble explained
The AirBubble restorative space is composed of a 6m-high cylindrical timber structure connected at three levels, wrapped in an ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) copolymer membrane, sitting on the top of a landscaped mound.
The middle section of the wooden structure hosts 36 large bioreactors in borosilicate glass, which contain 350 litres of living green Chlorella algae cultures, that can filter a flow of polluted air at 150 litres per minute.
While the liquid medium washes particles, the algae actively eat the polluting molecules as well as carbon dioxide, releasing fresh clean oxygen.
The filtering process is enhanced by the architectural morphology of the AirBubble restorative space – the inverted conical roof membrane further stimulates the air recirculation and natural ventilation.
Benefits
The white bubbling sound of the algae gardening system masks the noise of the truck-loading dock, creating a calming atmosphere ideal for relieving mind and body stress.
Harvested biomass can be incorporated into the canteen menu as algae drinks and vegetable protein bread, or used as fertiliser for the wild meadow and the set of 47 medicinal plants concentrically arranged around the central seating area.
Material composition
A rubber surface composed of a mix of light and dark green, as well as shades of brown particles, leads to a broad two-level seating area.
Two sinuous Corten metal sheets, chosen by the architects for its weathering properties, create a central petal-like sculpture – where the roof membrane converges into a small rainwater garden.
A second Corten element highlights the perimeter, where eleven cork seats are fixed into the rubberised surface. The seats are made from cork chips that have been moistened to release a natural resin, forming several dark brown cork blocks that were then CNC-cut into softer morphologies.

Situated on the top of a landscaped mound, the wooden structure is anchored with 26 ground screws.
Environmental considerations
Designed for the lightest touch on the ground, the wooden structure is anchored with 26 ground screws. By avoiding the use of concrete posts or pier blocks, this structural solution does not disrupt the landscape and is fully reversible.
By implementing local plants that grow according to the season, and integrating rainwater collection, the AirBubble restorative space does not use irrigation water, thus preserving natural resources.

A rubber surface composed of a mix of light and dark green, as well as shades of brown particles, broad two-level seating area.
Environmental monitoring
The project features a monitoring system that integrates urban air pollution sensors and measures the air quality index (AQI) for six core pollutants: Fine particulate PM2,5 and PM10, ground level ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), sulphur dioxide (SO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). AirBubble is capable of absorbing 97% of the nitrogen and 75% of the particulate matter in the air.
The AirBubble restorative space is part of a wider project focussed on raising awareness of the impact of air pollution on human health. Previous endeavours are the AirBubble playground in Warsaw, the AirBubble inflatable air-purifying eco-machine installed at COP26, COP27 and the Saudi Design Festival, and the AirLab presented in London.
Project details
Project name: AirBubble restorative space.
Location: Nyon, Switzerland.
Architect: ecoLogicStudio (Claudia Pasquero, Marco Poletto).
Project team: Claudia Pasquero, Marco Poletto with Konstantina Bikou, Marco Matteraglia, Alessandra Poletto, Andrea Tiberi, Francesca Turi, Lucas Ursprung.
Academic partners: Synthetic Landscape Lab IOUD Innsbruck University, Urban Morphogenesis Lab BPRO, The Bartlett UCL.
Photographer: ©Pepe Fotografia.
Full thanks and acknowledgement go to https://www.ecologicstudio.com/ for the information in this article.
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