NASA’s newest research center is going to be the greenest and most self-sustaining government building ever built. Innovations are all courtesy of space travel quality technologies and conveniences. For instance, the water treatment system uses forward osmosis to reuse grey waste water, the ceiling panels cool the air, and shades open and close automatically to make the most efficient use of natural light and heat.

Integration with nature is essential to the design of the base and the engineers have taken great care in connecting the inner workings of the building with the external landscapes. To be at one with nature, there are as many outdoor meeting spaces as indoor and large open rooms are meant to facilitate a fresh holistic-type environment.

The structure is located in Moffett Field, California on the campus of NASA’s Silicon Valley Ames Research Center. It really doesn’t cost a huge amount of dollars more to construct a facility of this magnitude, according to NASA, as many of the innovations, such as the geothermal well, will pay for themselves in efficiency over time.

The research center will become NASA’s premier place for testing green and energy efficient technologies. Building technology is a crucial part of what NASA does, and the idea of creating more friendly, efficient, and enjoyable work environments was at the forefront of design and engineering when the plans for the center were conceived.

Take a look at USA Today’s coverage of the building site: