At Oberlin College, William McDonough + Partners (WM+P) designed a building like a tree: a building powered by the sun, enmeshed in local nutrient flows and beneficial to the landscape. Built in northern Ohio, the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies was designed to ultimately generate more energy than it consumes. Solar power is collected with rooftop cells and sunlight pours through southwest-facing windows into a two-story atrium, illuminating the public gathering areas. Wastewater is purified by a constructed marsh-like ecosystem that breaks down and digests organic material and releases clean water. The upholstery fabrics will feed the garden, and the carpets will be retrieved by the manufacturer and reused for new, high-quality carpets.