ISTB 2 Arizona State University

Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building II is a high-bay facility supporting research in advanced materials, transportation planning, geotechnical engineering, fluid dynamics and sustainable materials. The architecture exhibits a particularly striking unification of form and function, blending the utilitarian elements of a high-tech industrial structure with a sense of art-gallery aesthetics. Six large overhead fans and a misting system provide an evaporative cooling system that helps create a comfortable microclimate in the building. At the same time, the movement of the fans accentuates a feeling of activity and energy within the 280-foot-long, linear shaded courtyard that forms the indoor-outdoor "spine" of the building. A series of lofts and bays that function as meeting rooms and study lounges are perched along the building's mezzanine level in a fashion that gives the facility a stylistic uniformity and a sculptural abstractness. (text from ASU website)