The outdoor laboratory for the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture is a high-performance landscape that functions as both an outdoor classroom and entry plaza. The former grayfield was reimagined as a research-oriented public space that sustains urban wildlife and extends the multidisciplinary studio environment outdoors. Here, students, faculty, staff, and visitors are invited to explore a network of gathering spaces nestled within vibrant Sonoran Desert gardens, which are irrigated in most part by harvested water. A model of water-conscious design, the laboratory utilizes an 11,000-gallon cistern that collects roof runoff, HVAC condensate, and graywater from the building for landscape irrigation, dramatically reducing−if not eliminating−the need for potable irrigation water. In turn, the landscape regulates indoor climate, cleanses air and water, and enhances human well being. In this way, the project is largely self-sustaining−rare in such an arid environment as the desert southwest−and serves as a place for students to study, gather, build projects, test ideas, and observe sustainable design firsthand.