Sustainable Facility - December 2008 - (Page 12)

CAS ADVANCES SCIENTIFIC LITERACY, LivingLAB ENGAGES THE PUBLIC, DOCUMENTS AND CONSERVES EARTH’S NATURAL RESOURCES. ■ Founded in 1853 as the ﬁrst scientiﬁc institution in the West, the California Academy of Sciences is the only institution in the world to house an aquarium, planetarium, natural history museum, and world-class research and education programs under one roof. >> Photos by Tim Grifﬁth. nown as one of the country’s more progressive cities in terms of implementing sustainable strategies across all levels of government, it should be no surprise that the California Academy of Sciences (CAS), in San Francisco, is one of the world’s most innovative museum building programs. Now complete (after almost a decade of planning) and expected to earn a LEED Platinum certiﬁcation from the U.S. Green Building Council, CAS in the city’s Golden Gate Park is topped with a 2.5-acre living roof and employs a wide range of energy-saving materials and technologies. Designed by Pritzker Prize winner Renzo Piano, the facility stands as an embodiment of the CAS’ mission to explore, explain and protect the natural world. “Our goal was to create a new facility that would not only hold powerful exhibits but serve as one itself, inspiring visitors to conserve natural resources and help sustain the diversity of life on Earth,” said CAS Executive Director Dr. Gregory Farrington. K ■ The living roof, which reduces stormwater runoff by up to 3.6 million gallons of water per year, includes an observation deck, allowing visitors to admire the rooftop wildlife haven and learn about the beneﬁts of this sustainable feature. NEW STANDARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE CAS is one of 10 pilot green building projects of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, part of a vanguard initiative to develop models for workable, sustainable public architecture. Designed to be the greenest museum in the world, CAS optimizes the use of resources, minimizes environmental im12 S U S TA I N A B L E F A C I L I T Y DECEM BER 2008 pacts, and serves as an educational model by demonstrating how humans can live and work in environmentally responsible ways. The facility integrates architecture and landscape, and helps to set a new standard for energy efﬁciency and environmentally responsible engineering systems in a public, architecturally distinguished building. “We’re not here to disrupt the environment; we’re here to accentuate,” said Eric Ko, CAS engineer of record, Arup. In Piano’s design, the environmentally sensitive components of the building are featured, rather than hidden. The roof is bordered by a glass canopy

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Sustainable Facility - December 2008 Contents Editorial Industry Watch 2008 Top Products Living Lab Suppliers Products Trade Names Resources Initiatives Marketplace %2B Classifieds Advertiser’s Index

Sustainable Facility - December 2008

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