Smog Eating Concrete

A recent article in the New York Times describes efforts by architect Richard Meier to use new technology in a church he is building outside of Rome. The building uses his usual minimalist approach and stark whites and glass (like his Federal Court House in Central Islip, NY, where I once served jury duty). But in the Rome church he is using photocatalytic concrete. This concrete contains a coating of titanium dioxide that, when exposed to sunlight, destroys the smog in the immediate vicinity.

Certainly not a silver bullet, but a interesting element to the push towards green architecture and design.