Studio Roosegaarde’s Urban Sun could mean safer outdoor gatherings
Ossip van Duivenbode

Studio Roosegaarde’s Urban Sun could mean safer outdoor gatherings

17 Mar 2021  •  News  •  By Allie Shiell

On March 5, Dutch firm Studio Roosegaarde unveiled Urban Sun, an installation style lamp design which has potential utility for sanitizing public spaces of viruses such as Covid-19 and facilitating safer outdoor gatherings.

Ossip van Duivenbode

Studio founder Daan Roosegaarde has long been interested in and inspired by the power of light, both as metaphor for knowledge and as a tool for artistic and utilitarian innovation. He began the self-funded pilot project for Urban Sun in 2019 after reading several scientific studies about the potential uses of harnessing a specific type of ultraviolet light to combat viruses, accelerating his efforts in response to the urgency of the pandemic.

Willem de Kam

Traditional UV light has been demonstrated to effectively kill airborne viruses, but has a wavelength of 254nm (nanometres), which is considered harmful for humans and animals – being both carcinogenic and cataractogenic.  A new type of light called far-UVC light has a wavelength of 222nm, which in addition to being considered safe for human exposure, is able to safely sanitize 99.9% of coronaviruses and other pathogens. The shorter wavelength means the light cannot penetrate mammalian skin nor harm the eyes, but due to the smaller dimensions (micrometer or smaller) of bacteria and viruses, far-UVC can effectively penetrate and inactivate them.

Willem de Kam

The research behind the far-UVC light technology that powers Urban Sun is explicated in multiple peer-reviewed academic journal articles authored by scientists from Columbia and Hiroshima Universities. Along with the Studio Roosegaarde team, the Urban Sun project was overseen by various external experts and scientists from across the globe. The project’s far-UVC light source is measured and calibrated by the Dutch National Metrology Institute VSL, and the Urban Sun meets all safety standards of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICIRP).

The Urban Sun comprises a lamp suspended above the ground using a series of cables.  The installation is activated in the evening, radiating a conical sphere of light outward onto the area beneath it, sanitizing the air in its orb.  The launch of the first Urban Sun took place alongside Rotterdam’s iconic Erasmus Bridge, and was themed and filmed in the style of a movie premiere available on Studio Roosegaarde’s website. While the Urban Sun conception is still evolving, the launch was designed to inspire hope and explore creative responses that may be widely adaptable as additional layers of protection to current public health advisories such as mask wearing and social distancing. 

Willem de Kam

To be truly effective as a core tool against virus transmission, the technology requires much more robust testing, evaluation, and adaptation so that it may be used indoors, where virus transmission is more common, and for outdoor uses be customized for variations in wind velocities, structural constraints, and intended coverage areas. This first iteration seeks to restore a sense of intimacy which has been so sorely missing during the pandemic and to serve as a call to action for governments, architects, and innovators to collaborate and innovate on new solutions to the challenges of the pandemic. By installing the project in a public space, Roosegaarde invites reflection and thoughtful exchange of ideas and encourages governments and partners to build upon and scale-up these types of technologies. Roosegaarde wants to invite alternatives to segregation via plexiglass barriers and siloed clusters of humans and instead encourage citizens and thought leaders to “be the architects of our new normal and create better places to meet and interact”.

Willem de Kam

The Urban Sun as it currently stands provides an additional layer of protection against Covid-19 but is not intended to replace current regulations. Roosegaarde hopes that in time, installing Urban Suns in metro stations, schools, public squares, and sports arenas could help make public spaces safer.  But in the meantime, the team seeks to build awareness of and reverence for far-UVC light and its potential uses in both indoor and outdoor spaces as a promising, inexpensive, and safe tool to reduce the spread of airborne microbial diseases, ultimately shaping a better and safer world in the face of future public health challenges. 

Willem de Kam