Can Architectural Surfaces Capture Atmospheric Particulate Matter Like Trees? A Design Strategy to Mimic Leaf Traits

Trees’ ability to capture atmospheric Particular Matter (PM) is related to morphological traits (shape, size, and micro-morphology) of the leaves. The objectives of this study were (1) to find out whether cluster pattern of the leaves is also a parameter that affects trees’ PM capturing performance and (2) to apply the cluster patterns of the leaves on architectural surfaces to confirm its impact on PM capturing performance. Two series of chamber experiments were designed to observe the impact of cluster patterns on PM capturing performance whilst other influential variables were controlled. First, we exposed synthetic leaf structures of different cluster patterns (a large and sparsely arranged cluster pattern and a small and densely arranged cluster pattern) to artificially generated PM in a chamber for 60 min and recorded the changing levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 every minute. The results confirmed that the small and densely arranged cluster pattern has more significant effect on reducing PM 2.5 and PM 10 than the large and sparsely arranged cluster pattern. Secondly, we created three different types of architectural surfaces mimicking the cluster patterns of the leaves: a base surface, a folded surface, and a folded and porous surface. The surfaces were also exposed to artificially generated PM in the chamber and the levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 were recorded. The results confirmed that the folded and porous surface has a more significant effect on reducing PM 2.5 and PM 10 than other surfaces. The study has confirmed that the PM capturing performance of architectural surfaces can be improved by mimicking cluster pattern of the leaves.