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The CEILI.AIR Air Purifier Hangs Above the Rest

In most households, open counter space in the kitchen can be as valuable as San Francisco real estate. That problem is the impetus for Korean designer Changho Lee’s novel environmental appliance concept design – the CEILI.AIR – a combination air purification system and overhead light source in one.

Finished with a soft palette of decor-friendly shades, Lee’s CEILI.AIR design looks like something straight out of the catalog of B&O Play wireless speakers; the soft curvilinear exterior is fashioned to work in harmony with the rest of a room as a functional and discrete element within the kitchen. But unlike a wireless audio speaker emanating music, the soft fabric covered front and perforated edges of the CEILI.AI is intended to pull ambient air in for filtration and dehumidification.

Since the unit is designed to be hung from the ceiling, Lee imagined the unit’s controls would be best accessed using a compatible app rather than requiring users to reach upward for physical buttons. The addition of a LED light bottom offers a secondary utility as a kitchen lighting source, a particularly intelligent feature for a device intended to hang conspicuously overhead.

The CEILI.AIR is currently only an exploratory concept, but one with promise when considering all of the smaller kitchens without overhead venting available (or possible). A small ceiling filtration system like the CEILI.AIR could be an effective means of removing harmful pollutants and odors without requiring expensive installation or investment, a welcome option for the majority of people who live in apartments and other small spaces.

Gregory Han is a Senior Editor at Design Milk. A Los Angeles native with a profound love and curiosity for design, hiking, tide pools, and road trips, a selection of his adventures and musings can be found at gregoryhan.com.