California Academy of Sciences’ historic structure in Golden Gate Park.

Italian “starchitect” Renzo Piano is partnering with San Francisco’s Chong Partners Architecture to compose a new score of architectural jazz in Golden Gate Park.

Designers and engineers behind the California Academy of Sciences redevelopment are aiming for LEED Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council [see “Green building by the Bay,” SI, May 2005]. It’s an unprecedented goal for a world-class museum incorporating a “living rainforest,” a 225,000-gallon exhibit of a Philippine coral reef and thousands of science exhibit specimens.

Design features for the new structure include ample natural lighting and ventilation, nontoxic building materials, on-site solar power generation and a 66 percent-grade eco-roof providing native habitat for butterflies, hummingbirds and increasingly elusive honeybees. Energy-efficiency technologies could reduce energy consumption to 50 percent less than prescribed by California building codes.

The roughly $500 million project, financed through a combination of public and private funds, is scheduled for completion in 2008. Museum leaders say the project isn’t costing more than a comparable world-class museum. They expect huge returns, however.

More info:
www.calacademy.org/ newacademy/index.php

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