Wender·Vista
Biosphere 2
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileArizona
in the Catalina foothills north of Tucson

Biosphere 2

— — a glass world built to test another one.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Outside Oracle, Arizona, on a mesa in the Santa Catalina foothills, Biosphere 2 covers just over three acres under glass and steel — a closed ecological experiment built between 1987 and 1991. Two crews sealed themselves inside for missions in the early nineties. The University of Arizona has run the site as a research facility since 2011. The desert reads pale and the glass reads green.

from the studio
Biosphere 2
— bring it home

Biosphere 2, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Biosphere 2

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Biosphere 2 stands at about 3,900 feet on a mesa near Oracle, Arizona, roughly thirty miles north of Tucson at the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains. The structure encloses 3.14 acres under glass and steel and contains five wild biomes — rainforest, ocean with coral reef, mangrove wetlands, savannah grassland, and fog desert — plus an agricultural area and the original human habitat. The University of Arizona has owned and operated the facility since 2011 as a climate and earth-systems research campus.

— the year

Biosphere 2 was built between 1987 and 1991 by Space Biosphere Ventures, funded primarily by Edward Bass. The first sealed mission ran from September 1991 to September 1993 with a crew of eight; a second, shorter mission in 1994 ended early after a management dispute. Columbia University managed the site as a research campus from 1996 to 2003, after which it sat largely dormant until the University of Arizona acquired it in 2011 and resumed climate-change and ecosystem research there.

— the visit

Biosphere 2 is open to the public seven days a week with timed self-guided tours that move through the rainforest, ocean, desert, and lung structures. The campus sits at 32540 South Biosphere Road, about a forty-minute drive from central Tucson. Tour routes climb and descend stairs and pass through humid biomes, so the recommended time on site is around two hours. The University of Arizona uses revenue from tours to fund ongoing earth-systems research at the facility.

— informed by Biosphere 2 — Visit
— where
United States · Oracle, Pinal County, Arizona
— elevation
1,189 m · 3,901 ft
— position
32.5786° N · 110.8508° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
5 km N
Oracle
town
25 km S
Mount Lemmon
mountain
30 km SW
Catalina State Park
state park
50 km S
Tucson
city
N
Biosphere 2
Oracle
Mount Lemmon
Catalina State Park
Tucson
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Biosphere 2 — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Biosphere 2 is a 3.14-acre sealed-glass research facility north of Tucson, Arizona, built between 1987 and 1991 to study closed ecological systems. It is now operated by the University of Arizona.

Biosphere 2 sits near Oracle, Arizona, about thirty miles north of Tucson at the foot of the Santa Catalina Mountains, at an elevation of roughly 3,900 feet.

A crew of eight sealed themselves inside from September 1991 to September 1993 — the first and longest mission. A second mission in 1994 ran for about six months before ending early.

The University of Arizona has owned and operated Biosphere 2 since 2011, using the closed biomes to run climate-change and ecosystem experiments at controlled CO2 and temperature levels.

Five wild biomes under glass: a rainforest, a million-gallon ocean with coral reef, mangrove wetlands, a savannah grassland, and a fog desert, plus an agricultural area and the original human habitat.

Yes. Biosphere 2 is open seven days a week with timed self-guided tours that pass through the rainforest, ocean, and desert biomes and the lung chambers that regulated internal pressure.

— about the piece in your home

It has been for many of our customers — researchers, University of Arizona alumni, and visitors who remember the early-nineties missions. A Small or Medium carries the silhouette of the glass and steel well.

The glass-and-steel geometry pairs with Mid-century modern, Industrial, and Desert-modern rooms. The cool green of the rainforest dome reads as a quiet colour anchor against warm wood or pale plaster walls.

A single Large works above a console. Above a three-seat sofa, a four-tile Mural reads in scale; above a long sectional or a science-themed library wall, a nine-tile Mural holds.

Yes, in the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both resist scratching and tolerate steam and splash, suitable for a backsplash, a shower niche, or a powder-room wall.

A soft microfibre cloth with water. No abrasives, no ammonia cleaners, no scouring pads. The colour lives in the ceramic surface so cleaning does not fade it.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original work from our Knoxville studio, hand-finished in-house. The art is not licensed from any third party and is not sold elsewhere.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.