Smoke Room

Smoke Room is a data physicalization installation that communicates air pollution data using objects found in a smoking lounge: cigarettes, matchboxes, ashtrays, ash, and smoke.

The primary metric used to communicate air pollution levels to the public is the Air Quality Index (AQI). However, it is often difficult for the public to put AQI into a relatable context. How AQI is calculated and what those specific numbers signify remains opaque to most people.

Air pollution data is everywhere—daily AQI alerts, color-coded maps, and city rankings shared across news and social media. Yet, for most people, AQI still feels abstract: a number that signals “bad air” without clearly explaining its physiological impact. Risk perception is a crucial antecedent of health behavior, and the relationship between self-risk perception and subsequent precautionary intention has been widely validated. Apart from observing visual changes to the environment during high-smog days, we rely on AQI to provide a more accurate sense of pollution levels in our locality. However, interpreting these numbers comes with its own set of challenges.

This is where the comparison of AQI to cigarette consumption becomes useful. For some time, this comparison has been used to communicate the adverse effects of breathing polluted air. By translating air pollution exposure into a "cigarette equivalent" health risk, the data helps people understand what they are breathing every day through a lens they already recognize. Using this comparison has significantly improved risk perception when people encounter AQI data.

Smoke Room extends this comparison by translating air pollution numbers into physical objects. Data from different Indian cities and its specific impacts on various demographics are embedded into these artifacts. Each object conveys data in an engaging manner, allowing the audience to physically experience and better understand the gravity of air pollution.