''Green' or environmentally responsible buildings that use minimal resources by depending on solar energy or recycled water are becoming increasingly common. However, the Torre de Especialidades Tower currently being constructed as an extension of a hospital in Mexico City, is taking that concept to a whole new level, with a new innovative tile that is capable of absorbing pollution from the atmosphere.

The brainchild of Berlin-based Elegant Embellishments, the Prosolve370oe's beautiful quasi-crystalline shape is not only designed to look good, but to also, help slow down the wind speed and create a turbulence, allowing the air pollutants to be exposed to a greater surface area.

This in turn, allows the titanium oxide that covers the tiles to freely react with the nitrogen oxide present in the smog and with a little help from the sun's ultra violet rays and atmospheric humidity, break it down into less hazardous chemicals like calcium nitrate, carbon dioxide and water.

Experts estimate that the 10-meter Torre de Especialidades wall will be able to neutralize the equivalent of smog produced by 8,750 cars on a daily basis. The best part is that the titanium oxide itself remains unaffected, so the tiles do not have to be constantly re-coated.

While the Mexico City hospital is the first commercial building to test this cutting edge technology, we have a feeling that these beautiful quasi-crystalline tiles will be a standard facade on buildings all over the world, in the very new future.

Resources: fastcoexist.com, inhabitat.com