A team of master’s and doctoral students is overseeing the retrofit of a 112-year-old house in Ann Arbor, so the home will meet parameters of what’s called a “Living Building,” meaning that it is self-sufficient and self-sustaining in energy needs and water resources. Partnering with the THRIVE Net-Zero Collaborative, and working with U-M’s Living Building team, the group is leading the design of a zero-waste portable rainwater harvesting system, with on-site reclamation and treatment. The students are also seeking to qualify the site for certification under the Living Building Challenge by allowing the home to leave a net-zero impact on the site’s water cycle, an undertaking never before attempted on a single-family house. The project team includes: Derya Ayral, Devki Desai and Emily Herbert, Engineering; Alexandro Bazan and Sarang Supekar, SNRE and Architecture/Urban Planning; and Alexander Chow, Architecture/Urban Planning. The faculty advisor is Steven Skerlos, Mechanical Engineering.