The WOOP Air Purifier takes its cue from the world’s most famous plumber’s pipe, but instead of warping you to another world, it purifies the air in yours. Hidden HEPA filtration meets unmistakable design in this cylindrical aluminum powerhouse.
Passakorn Kulkliang and the team at SYRUBSTUDIO in Bangkok just dropped what might be the year’s most delightfully unsubtle product design homage. The WOOP Air Purifier is a full-throated love letter to Super Mario’s green warp pipes, rendered in anodized aluminum with enough visual wit to make you grin and enough actual engineering to justify the space it takes up on your shelf. I’ve seen plenty of gaming-inspired products that lean too hard into kitsch or try to be subtle about their references and fail at both. This one commits to the bit completely while maintaining enough restraint in execution to work as an actual object you’d want in your living room.
Designer: Passakorn Kulkliang
The form is dead simple. A cylindrical body wrapped in precision perforations for air intake, topped with a broader cap that houses the outlet and touch controls. The green finish comes in that distinctly Mario shade of vibrant metallic green, though they also offer it in brushed aluminum if you want the reference to be slightly less obvious to guests. The perforations aren’t just decorative either. They’re strategically distributed across the surface to maximize airflow into the HEPA filter core hidden inside, which handles the actual work of scrubbing particulates from your air. Air gets pulled through those tiny holes, passes through the filter, and exits upward through radiating vents in the top cap.
The interface lives on that top surface, integrated so seamlessly you barely notice it until you need it. Touch-sensitive LED icons indicate different fan modes without cluttering the design with physical buttons or garish displays. There’s also a front-facing light that pulses gently during operation, almost like the device is breathing. When the filter needs replacing, that light shifts to a warm red-orange glow. Smart move there, turning a maintenance reminder into an ambient design feature rather than an annoying blinking alert.
What makes this work is the total lack of apology in the design language. Kulkliang could have tried to make a vaguely cylindrical purifier with subtle pipe-like qualities, giving themselves plausible deniability about the inspiration. Instead, they went all in on the proportions, the color, the tiered construction. It looks exactly like what it’s supposed to look like, and that confidence is what elevates it from novelty to genuinely interesting industrial design. The Mario reference becomes the hook that gets you to look, but the actual craft in material choice, perforation patterns, and interface design is what makes it hold up under scrutiny.
The specs are solid enough for a compact purifier. HEPA filtration handles particles down to 0.3 microns, which covers most common indoor air quality concerns like dust, pollen, and pet dander. No word yet on CADR ratings or room size coverage, which would be helpful for understanding actual performance capabilities beyond the visual appeal. The aluminum body isn’t just aesthetic either. Metal conducts heat better than plastic, which helps with thermal management for the motor and extends component lifespan. It also gives the thing some actual heft, so it feels substantial rather than like a cheap plastic shell wrapped around a fan.
This sits in an interesting space between functional appliance and design object. Most air purifiers try desperately to disappear into your decor, all neutral tones and forgettable shapes. WOOP does the opposite, demanding attention while somehow still working as a coherent piece of modern design. That’s a difficult balance to strike. Go too far toward the novelty end and you get something that’s fun for a week before it starts feeling like clutter. Stay too conservative and you’ve just made another boring appliance. This threads that needle by being visually bold but texturally refined, playful in concept but serious in execution.
The post This Mario Pipe Air Purifier Is the Most Delightfully Weird Thing You’ll Want in Your Home first appeared on Yanko Design.