Engineered Systems - August 2008 - (Page 34)

When visitors enter this academy’s new home, they won’t only see thousands of specimens and creatures on display. An overtly sustainable design approach — including HVAC that smartly blends natural ventilation and radiant systems — will be on display as well. The way the system adapts to recent and current conditions is as much a key as the equipment itself, so follow it from the CFD to the details adjusted on-site. BY PAUL SWITENKI, P.E. ounded in 1853, the California Academy of Sciences is the largest cultural institution in the City of San Francisco, one of the 10 largest natural history museums worldwide, and it has a mission to explore and explain the natural world. The original Academy complex was located in Golden Gate Park and consisted of 12 different buildings constructed over 80 years, with the first constructed in 1916. There was never a master plan for the site; therefore, over time, the complex became inadequate to meet the Academy’s high standards of excellence in research and education. The earthquake of 1989 also caused significant damage to some structures, forcing the closure of sections over time. BUILDING DESCRIPTION The new California Academy of Sciences building is opening in September 2008. With an anticipated annual attendance of 1.6 million, the new 410,000-sq-ft structure will house 18 million natural history specimens and more than 10,000 living specimens. With its undulating green roof, the building is fast becoming an iconic landmark in San Francisco. The building consists of five floors, two of which are below-grade. The lower basement level covers only the southern half of the building footprint and contains research, collections, and administrative areas. These spaces are repeated on each floor. The upper basement level includes water-based exhibits (living Coral Reef, Water Planet, California Coast, and a four-level rainforest exhibit) and support spaces. 34 En gi neer ed S y stem s August 2008 F From the ground floor up, the Academy appears as four, rectangular cornerstone structures reminiscent of the old Academy arrangement. These structures contain the research, collections and administrative areas, exhibits, retail, dining, and conference facilities. Glass walls and an undulating, 2.5-acre native green roof — representing the seven hills of San Francisco — enclose the volume between the cornerstone structures. Included within are the two large spherical volumes (rainforest and planetarium), a 6,000-sq-ft glass piazza, and 38,000 sq ft of flexible exhibit space. As the executive architect Renzo Piano has described it, the green roof design is like “metaphorically lifting up a piece of the park and putting a building underneath.” The rainforest and planetarium form the two larger of the seven mounds that represent the topography of San Francisco. SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY GOALS Designed to meet the highest standards of environmental excellence, the new Academy is striving to receive a LEED® Platinum rating from the USGBC and is also a city of San Francisco Department of the Environment green building pilot project. The building will be an exhibit in its own right since the public will be able to see many of the principles of sustainable design and operation, energy performance and production, water and IAQ, sustainable collections management, and the living roof. The new Academy’s chilled water is generated by three efficient,

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Engineered Systems - August 2008

Engineered Systems - August 2008 Contents Editor's Note Back2Basics HVAC Challenge Case In Point Commissioning Building Automation Efficiency Incentives HVACR Designer Tips Glass Box to Grand Casino Looking Radiant In Green Mechanical Products Sourcebook Q&A: Dehumidification In Schools Building Oversight Management: M&V And More Products Classifieds Advertiser Index Tomorrow's Environment

Engineered Systems - August 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.