Algae is a strange creature, some species of the green (but not always!) may have harmful effects on our environment and even infect our brains to slow down some of our cognitive functions, others can be used to produce highly efficient biofuel or possible food sources.

This plant-like microogranism has another purpose, thanks to Dutch and French designers from an international design group called Cloud Collective. They have built an algae farm over a highway pass in Geneva, Switzerland as a way to transform the urban landscape into a smart use of a polluted area as well as once the algae is fully matured, can also be used for other products such as in biodiesel fuels as well as in medications and cosmetics. They hope that the practicality and innovative design will encourage other designers to use the urban environment around them to incorporate beneficial agricultural elements into it.

The design itself is pretty straight forward, algae is grown inside long, narrow tubes, while a series of pumps, filters and solar panels help the maturation process. Because algae uses sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, it releases oxygen which will also help clean up much of the pollution formed from high amounts of traffic via highways.

I hope that we will begin seeing such designs popping up in the United States, because some of most high polluted cities are found in our lovely country and there really are just not enough greenery available to clean up these urban streets!