Xero Studio

This article appeared in the June 2020 issue of ARCHITECT.

For 15 years, Studio Ma called downtown Phoenix home. In that time, the firm saw the urban core transform from an office-hours-only environment into a vibrant district. But an increasingly traffic-filled commute and the trials of tenancy drove the sustainably minded firm to find its own space: “When it came to installing photovoltaics, looking at alternative water, or incorporating nature, we ran up against the limitations of being a renter,” partner Christopher Alt says.

Mindful of its carbon footprint, the firm sought out existing properties, and found one northeast of downtown that fit the bill. Years of service as a dentist’s office had left the building “looking like old dentures,” partner Christiana Moss, FAIA, says, but its unusual siting (at an angle to the street) was compelling, as was the option to preserve embodied carbon by reusing the bulk of the masonry structure. The firm engineered a bespoke wood truss system in order to increase the height of the structure with wood framing, while allowing the bulk of the interior to remain open-plan and column-free. They wrapped the exterior walls and sheltered walkways in a screen made of Kebonized wood—a resin-infused Southern Yellow Pine that won’t degrade in desert conditions.

The firm set an aggressive goal of a triple net-zero (for energy, water, and waste) workplace, and has been making progress: Adding photovoltaics dropped the energy use intensity (EUI) from 45 in 2018 to zero in 2019. (A typical EUI for the building type is 76.) The PV panels supplement passive strategies: operable skylights expel warm air and cut the need for artificial light, while the exterior wood screen shades the envelope to reduce heat gain. The firm drastically reduced waste through on-site recycling and composting, and even a policy of returning all product samples to suppliers. “There is basically no garbage garbage,” Moss says.

Net-zero water has been difficult because it is “mired in regulation,” Alt says. After unsuccessful attempts to convince the city to allow a closed-loop treatment and reuse system, the firm is now pursuing a combination of composting toilets and a process called hand printing, which, in addition to a reduction in overall water use, involves “improving water efficiency on other properties, to offset your use on-site,” Alt says. “You are just not allowed to treat blackwater. Here, it is a non-starter.”

The irony is that blackwater-to-potable systems are readily available, Moss says. But municipalities won’t allow them because they “want to do it all: Collect the sewer, treat it, and have a giant graywater loop, which would be great. But the question is: When?”

The light-filled office interior has an open kitchen, a small shop, and bench seating that boasts views to shade gardens of native plants. And while the design “put our money where our mouth is” in terms of setting a sustainable example, Alt says, it has also brought in business: “We had our first-ever walk-in client, who drove by, loved it, and said: ‘Can you build me one of these?’”

Project Credits
Project: Xero Studio, Phoenix
Client: Studio Ma
Architect/Interior Designer: Studio Ma, Phoenix . Christiana Moss, FAIA, Christopher Alt, Tim Keil (project team)
Structural Engineer: Pangolin Structural
Mechanical/Plumbing Engineer: GLHN Architects & Engineers
Electrical Engineer: Woodward
Civil Engineer: Jacobs Wallace
Construction Manager/General Contractor: Vista General
Landscape Architect: Floor Associates
Lighting Designer: RC Lurie Co.
Materials Consultants: Progressive Roofing; Arcadia Custom; Bulthaup
Size: 2,515 square feet
Cost: $525,000