What would buildings look like if they were made from materials 100 times stronger than steel, if sensors embedded in materials and inhabitants created smart environments, and walls and ceilings changed color based on user preferences? These are some of the questions answered by the nanoSTUDIO, a joint exploration by Ball State University (BSU) and Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

In the course, which I led with janet Staker Woerner of IIT, students from BSU's architecture department and IIT's IPRO program designed homes based on nanotechnology. BSU and IIT students collaborated to imagine what buildings based on nanotechnology will be like 25 years from now. Their palette of materials included nanomaterials already developed in laboratories that are now working their way to market. These include transparent carbon nanotubes 100 times stronger than steel, nanosensors small enough to embed not only in building components but their users as well, and quantum dot lighting able to change the color and opacity of walls and ceilings.

But this was no mere "house-of-the-future" fantasy. Students also addressed the social and environmental concerns raised by nanotechnology, from toxicity (nanoparticles are so tiny they can pass through cell membranes) to privacy (who controls the data gathered by embedded nanosensors?) To learn more about how the science of the small is affecting architecture visit nanotechstudio.com. (image Adam Buente + Elizabeth Boone/nanoSTUDIO)