ISTB-7 is a major campus research center design unveiled this year for Arizona State University that looks into the future of how we will live on this planet. It shows how a building can create energy and clean water, absorb and regenerate carbon, and turn waste into nutrients. And it shows what our future buildings will look like.

Called ISTB-7, the interdisciplinary science and research complex includes a five-story atrium biome full of plants and water that regenerates carbon and water using bioclimactic and carbon-regeneration technologies. This new generation of sustainable design solutions, climate-responsive and restorative technologies can transform buildings into sources of energy, water, carbon and nutrition.

As backstory, the ISTB-7 is conceived as a highly sustainable science and technology center for the ASU Tempe campus. The transit-oriented solution includes a light rail station, and the structure’s climate-responsive, regenerative technologies are seen as a way to bring the campus energy, water, carbon and other nutrients.

The Studio Ma design for the Interdisciplinary Science & Technology Building, or ISTB-7, ensures it will produce enough carbon, energy, water and waste to achieve triple net-zero performance. To do so, ISTB-7 building materials absorb carbon and convert it to life-giving nutrients for durable materials and enriched soil. Its atrium biome purifies waste air, and a wetlands landscape recycles water using natural, bio-based methods. Rainwater is collected, and sun shades keep the interiors cool and comfortable.

Materials on the building incorporate ASU’s own cutting-edge scientific research on integrated carbon-capture technology. Methods to save and produce energy include air currents, evapotranspiration and photovoltaics. The complex treats and recycles sewage for use as greywater using low-energy, bio-based systems.