Dramatic Living Roof Installed Atop New California Academy of Sciences, Making It the "Greenest" Museum Ever Constructed
Roof to Feature 1.7 Million Native California Plants and Wildflowers; Museum Expected to Be World's Largest Public LEED Platinum Certified Building
SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - June 7, 2007) - Installation is now underway on the
largest living roof in California, a 2.5-acre expanse of native plants atop
the new California Academy of Sciences building in Golden Gate Park. Hailed
as the most complicated living roof ever constructed by architects and
contractors alike, the roof features seven dramatic hills blanketed with
nine species of native plants. This innovative roof will make the new
museum -- both literally and figuratively -- the greenest ever constructed.
Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Renzo Piano, the new building is expected
to be the first museum to achieve a LEED Platinum certification and will
stand as an embodiment of the Academy's mission to explore, explain and
protect the natural world.
During the initial search for a project architect in 2001, Renzo Piano's
sketch for an undulating living roof that integrated the new Academy more
sensitively into Golden Gate Park and made nature part of the building
quickly won over Academy officials. To make Piano's vision a reality,
Academy botanist Frank Almeda began working with a team of architects and
living roof experts.
"Our goal was to choose native plants that were well adapted to the climate
in Golden Gate Park and would provide much needed habitat for native birds,
butterflies, and other beneficial insects," explains Almeda. "We also
needed to select species that would look attractive throughout the year,
since a visually appealing roof is a much more powerful educational tool."
Before the Academy's original home in Golden Gate Park was torn down in
2004, Almeda and his team spent two years testing over 30 species of native
plants in steeply sloped planter boxes on the roof, where they were left to
grow without fertilization or irrigation. After surviving this trial, nine
hardy finalists were chosen: four perennial plants that Almeda
affectionately refers to as "The Fab Four" and five annual wildflowers.
These nine species will attract a wide variety of native wildlife,
including the endangered Bay checkerspot and San Bruno elfin butterflies.
Once installation is complete, the new Academy roof will offer the largest
swath of native vegetation in San Francisco County.
The planted roof will also provide a number of other benefits. The iconic
hills on the roof were designed not only for visual impact but also for
energy conservation. The contoured roofline will roll over the Academy's
domed planetarium, rainforest, and aquarium exhibits, echoing the
topography of the building's setting and evoking the interdependence of
biological systems. These hills, which feature slopes in excess of 60
degrees, will draw cool air into the open piazza at the center of the
building, naturally ventilating the surrounding exhibit spaces.
Strategically placed skylights in the roof will automatically open and
close to allow heat to escape through the tops of the domes. They will also
allow sunlight to reach the living rainforest and coral reef exhibits
below, reducing the energy requirements for artificial lighting.
Padded with six inches of soil, the roof will provide excellent insulation,
keeping interior temperatures about 10 degrees cooler than a standard roof.
It will also decrease the urban heat island effect, staying about 40
degrees cooler than a standard roof. Moreover, it will absorb about 98% of
all storm water, preventing up to two million gallons of runoff from
carrying pollutants into the ecosystem each year.
Innovative Installation
The new Academy's living roof features much steeper slopes than any other
living roof, so plant installation is challenging. To prevent the plants
and soil from sliding down these slopes, Carmel-based Rana Creek Nursery
developed an innovative and sustainable installation strategy. Using tree
sap and coconut husk fiber, a waste product from coconut plants in the
Philippines, they created porous, biodegradable trays in which to grow the
Academy's plants. These trays are installed onto the roof like tiles and
quickly become locked together as the plants' roots grow from one coconut
husk tray into the next.
Once installation is complete, the roof will hold 50,000 coconut husk trays
filled with 1.7 million plants. The trays will slowly biodegrade over the
next several years, leaving a well-established carpet of colorful plants
and wildflowers.
The New California Academy of Sciences
The new California Academy of Sciences will house Kimball Natural History
Museum, Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planetarium, along with eight
scientific research departments and 20 million scientific specimens. The
new museum will open to the public in October 2008. This major initiative
builds on the Academy's distinguished 154-year history and deepens its
commitment to advancing scientific literacy, engaging the public, and
documenting and conserving Earth's natural resources.