An environmental research centre in Valle de Bravo, Mexico, designed by Taller de Arquitectura de Alto Rendimiento, produces all of the resources it needs onsite.
Mexico City-based Taller de Arquitectura de Alto Rendimiento (TAAR) built El Humedal, or The Wetlands, from a mixture of natural and recycled materials according to the principles of zero waste and net zero energy consumption.

To realise their eco-friendly design, TAAR looked to the architecture of the Mazahuas people, a pre-hispanic culture living in Valle de Bravo.
"El Humedal uses two key Mazahua architectural elements for its design: wood structures in pitched roofs for rain water harvesting, and soil brick and stone walls to create thermal mass," TAAR co-founder Carlos Ruiz Galindo told Dezeen.
The research complex is surrounded by an edible forest,  organic orchard, and a man-made wetlands environment with several pools.
Raised on stilts and steel beams over the wetland pools, local pine and oak wood were used for the building's roofs and frames, while bricks made from local volcanic soil, were used for the walls.

Volcanic rock was also used for the flooring, along with terrazzo for the laboratory floors and work surfaces.
Decking for indoor and outdoor areas was made using a plastic created from 100 per cent recycled material.

"In this project we tried to make everything conscious, from the resources that the project needs to generate in order to operate, to the concept of generating so...