San Francisco, California, USA
The Galvan Mask by the designers at Card79 uses state-of-the-art materials and technology to eliminate the waste created by one-time-use masks.
The Galvan Mask is a sustainable alternative to disposable surgical masks which, despite having great filtration efficiency, create a huge amount of waste.
The goal of the designers was to create a re-useable mask with the hygienic and filtration benefits of a disposable surgical mask, without having the same negative environmental impact.
The Galvan Mask was awarded a 2021 Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Surgical Masks have great filtration efficiency due to their electrostatic properties that repel aerosol particles (what viral material attaches to), but after a few uses, these masks lose their electrostatic charge.
With the Galvan mask, the designers wanted to have great electrostatic properties, but a way to recharge the mask with negative ions, maintaining its high filtration efficiency.
Material selection was key to Galvan’s design: the mask consists of 3 layers that all have great electrostatic properties that repel aerosol particles.
The inside layer is a cotton-polyester blend layer that has a balance of comfort and electrostatic charge pickup.
The middle layer is a polypropylene filter that has great filtration properties and can be electrostatically recharged to maintain its great filtration level.
The outer layer is a hydrophobic polyester blend to keep the filter material as dry as possible.
Galvan also leverages virus-resistant materials such as copper woven fabrics to minimize the time period that viral material can survive on the mask surface.
The Galvan mask comes with an accompanying storage case.
The case electrostatically recharges the mask using an oscillating metal surface to maintain a high filtration efficiency.
Additionally, it has a heating element that creates an autoclave-like environment that eliminates any viral material that might be on the mask.
Project: The Galvan Mask
Designers: Card79
Manufacturer: Card79
