The architectural concept for the building is the sundial, signaling light as a theme from the world of science.

The non-native signaling compounds tested in Blackwell's study were first uncovered in Vibrio fischeri, the bacterium that produces light in the "flashlight squid," which lives in the Pacific Ocean.

They transduce or convert extracellular stimuli into intracellular signals through a number of signaling pathways, including neurotransmitters, light, hormones, lipids, and proteins.