What happens to a building designed as a science experiment on sustainable habitats after 25 years? It slowly but surely falls apart. Sustainability exists only under two support models: total reliance on nature and high-technology-high-maintenance. Biosphere 2 was a case for the latter, and is swiftly being reclaimed by the former model. Although the Fulleresque skeleton seems to be holding up nicely, the carefully cultivated plantlife succumbed to the desert environment. Keep that in mind if you’re launching yourself on a 250kiloton asteroid for a 1,000 year journey a la Charles Stross.
