The familiar ‘bengbeng’ is a motorized tricycle and a notorious polluter often used as an illegal taxi for short distances. POD hijacks a typical bengbeng and converts it into a plug-in electric vehicle, equipping it with a solar-powered ionic air purifier. By employing the tricycle’s maneuverability and redirecting its purpose to create a network of mobile pollution vacuums, POD legitimizes the bengbeng’s use as an urban taxi. Customers and drivers alike enjoy the personal benefits of a fresh-air commute, while participating in the scrubbing of the city’s air.
Concept
Development
The tricycle is a familiar, vernacular Chinese vehicle, a workhorse often symbolic of the new mobility of the working class. they exist in a spectrum from new modifications to utter disrepair from storage spaces to daily commuters for the disabled, [grey] taxis, and cargo machines for workers’ livelihood.
Design
Development
the ceiling-mounted ionic air purifier fills the cabin with clean air for the passenger and driver, highlighted by an LED ring