Feb 28 2008
You’re Never Too Old To Go “Green”
As our collective “green” consciousness develops, it’s great to see what individuals, institutions and companies are doing to make a difference in the greening of America. In San Francisco, a Victorian-era museum gets it! It’s going green with a project that will blow your mind!
Over 10 years ago, long before going green became cool, a spectacular, multi-million dollar sustainability project began taking shape in San Francisco in the form of a new home for the California Academy of Sciences, the oldest scientific institution in the western United States.
Since 1916, San Franciscans and visitors to the City by the Bay have enjoyed the Academy’s Steinhart Aquarium, Natural History Museum and Morrison Planetarium, all housed in a hodge-podge cluster of buildings in venerable, Victorian-era Golden Gate Park, one of the finest urban parks in the country. But the Academy’s exhibits were feeling their age, and it was time for a change.
And, change it they have! Rather than just update, the Academy has propelled itself into the 21st century in a big way. This brand new re-incarnation of an old favorite is going high-tech, interactive and very green! In the new building, opening on September 27, 2008 in Golden Gate Park, just across from the brand new de Young Museum, the aquarium, planetarium and natural history museum will now be under one roof, and what a roof it is!
It’s a 2.5 acre living roof, the biggest sustainable roof in the world. While earthen roofs have been around since ancient times, just wait until you see this jungle! It is a garden planted with 1.7 million native plants, one that birds and butterflies will call home!
The new building design and new exhibits reflect a renewal of the Academy’s mission to explore, explain and protect the natural world through a real commitment to sustainability, from the roof down. The living roof reduces storm water run-off; photo voltaic cells produce some of the building’s energy needs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions; operable skylights bring in natural light and create a natural ventilation system allowing hot air to escape, while the cool San Francisco air is brought in from below. Steel used in construction is recycled; shredded blue jeans insulate the walls; water for toilet flushing is reclaimed. There will be composting programs, non-toxic cleaners will be used, and the restaurant menu will be organic! Through this innovative structure, the Academy is striving to achieve the highest standard in green building, the LEED Platinum rating.
In addition to the star quality of its living roof and other green structural elements, the building is visually dramatic, with lots of glass and open space. The exhibits will be all 21st century, with a real WOW! factor. All will be spectacular, interactive and thought-provoking, with global environmental awareness in the forefront. In each, nature is not only on display, it is brought into the exhibit design as well. Sunlight naturally illuminates the coral reef exhibit and the tropical rainforest; ocean water from the Pacific is cycled through natural filtration systems into the aquatic tanks.
While striving to achieve the coveted LEED rating is laudable, what is even more so is the lasting impact the building’s environmentally green design elements and the remarkable exhibits will have on visitors each day. By reaching people from all over the globe, young and old, the Academy will be a real leader in sustainability education.
Great article! I find it particularly fitting that “shredded blue jeans” are being used for insulation in the walls since Levi’s started in SFO oh so many years ago. Wonder what Mr. Strauss would think about that???