ASU’s Walton Center for Planetary Health offers a 281,000-square-foot home to leading-edge research focused on the sustainability of food, water, and energy. Half of the building is lifted off the site, providing cool breezes in the courtyard and shaded pedestrian links to the campus. The exterior self-shading shell strategy mimics the skin of a cactus, while the courtyard reveals how shade, color, wind, and water can be combined to create an inviting oasis.