Imagine a building that breathes. That captures air, cleans it and turns it into water. Imagine walls that not only separate inside from out, but also care for the world they belong to. That idea, which until recently sounded like science fiction, is moving closer to reality thanks to the discovery honored with the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: metal–organic frameworks, or MOFs, which could forever change our relationship with matter, energy and the way we build and inhabit the world.

In simple terms, MOFs are like sponges. They are made of metal atoms linked to organic molecules that, when joined, form a network of tiny pores or channels capable of trapping gases, liquids, or impurities. That structure—lightweight, ordered and porous—allows them to store, filter or transform substances with unprecedented efficiency. Since their discovery in the 1990s, scientists have synthesized tens of thousands of variants with different properties and applications.

Although MOFs are still at an experimental stage, their potential is already drawing interest in fields as varied as medicine and civil engineering. Companies like Numat Technologies are already producing MOFs at a commercial scale, proof that this molecular revolution is starting to materialize.

To start, their ability to capture specific molecules makes these materials promising allies against one of the planet’s most significant challenges: reducing carbon emissions and making better use of resources.

In construction—responsible for around 37% of global CO₂ emissions associated with energy use and industrial processes—their potential could be transformative. MOFs could be integrated into coatings, panels or modular systems capable of capturing CO₂ and other contaminants both outdoors and indoors, turning walls and façades into active surfaces for purification and environmental well-being, in line with the most demanding sustainability and air-quality standards.

These structures also open new possibilities for water management and thermal regulation. Some types of MOFs can capture humidity from the air even in arid environments, releasing it later as usable water. That capability could be applied to passive climate-control systems, capture for nonpotable use, or even for more efficient, sustainable “air-conditioning” technologies.

But perhaps their greatest promise lies in their ability to be designed to measure. By modifying the metals or the organic linkers that compose them, scientists can create materials with specific properties: smart façades that regulate temperature or humidity, walls that store thermal energy, or coatings that respond to their surroundings. In this sense, MOFs herald a new generation of “living” materials: structures that not only support the building, but interact with it and with the climate around it.

The potential benefits suggest that, beyond efficiency or aesthetic innovation, MOFs could be integrated into circular-economy loops in which buildings not only consume less but give something back to their environment: cleaner air, recovered water and conserved energy. But there is still ground to cover to get there. The main challenge is scaling the technology from the lab to the real world: producing these materials at competitive costs and adapting them to construction demands—durability, weather, maintenance and compatibility with materials like concrete or steel—without losing their molecular precision. Added to that is the need for standards that certify their safety, structural performance and end-of-life recycling. In other words, moving from scientific promise to everyday infrastructure.

Today, the frontier of construction is no longer in steel or concrete, but in matter itself: learning to design from the atom up to the city. At a critical moment for our development, MOFs remind us that if for centuries building was how humans imposed their mark on the earth, now mastering matter could mean leaving a mark capable of sustaining us.

What other innovations are redefining how we build the world? Discover them at SiiLA REsource or write to us at contacto@siila.com.mx.