In partnership with Montana State University and the National Institute for Standards and Technology, BNIM designed a building that goes beyond "state-of-the-art" in efficiency, sustainability and effectiveness as a learning tool. The EPICenter (Educational Performance & Innovation Center) was designed to set new standards for science education and for sustainable building design. This LEED 2.0 Pilot project helped to define the U.S. Green Building Councils Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Guidelines.

The facility's alternative materials come from within its own region, it heats and cools itself with unprecedented efficiency, purifies its own waste water, and, most significantly, improves user health and productivity. BNIM designed the facility to incorporate passive natural lighting and ventilation, furnish a comfortable atmosphere and provide for long-term energy savings. Some of its unique features include a naturally cooled atrium, energy-efficient, integrated mechanical system and an integrated daylighting/lighting system in an energy-efficient envelope. A combined photovoltaic and thermal solar collector, fuel cell, and electrolyzer demonstrated new energy sources. Its design proved that it was possible to significantly reduce the operating energy demands of a laboratory building and in so doing, reduce CO2 emissions, by 300,000 pounds per year. The result: a building that itself is a teaching tool, a place where effective learning merges with everyday activity.

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