Gallery: Sustainable Copper-Clad ASU C...  The evacuated solar
hot water system on the cool roof.  Located right down the block
from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, the College of
Nursing effectively matches a similar aesthetic with a desert
colored and high-performance facade. Copper was chosen for the
building’s facade for multiple reasons. First, most copper being
sold today is partially recycled and it is also highly
recyclable. Second, Arizona is leading producer of copper in the
US, so the material could easily be sourced locally. And
finally, at the time of construction, the price of copper was
relatively low, so the school was able to take advantage of this
lower cost material and keep in line with their budget. Over
time, the prefabricated panels, some which include perforations
for ventilation, will naturally fade into browns and grays.
Besides the high-performance glazing, cool-roofing, efficient
thermal insulation, shading was also incredibly important for
both inside the building as we