California Academy of Sciences

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California Academy of Sciences

2.5 Acre Educational Green Roof Habitat, LEED Platinum

In the heart of one of the country’s largest urban parks, the California Academy of Sciences hosts a LEED® Platinum Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. RANA worked with Renzo Piano Building Workshop, Chong and Partners Architecture, SWA Group, ARUP Engineering, and the Academy to create a living roof that covers 160,000 square feet of roof with four steeply sloped domes replicating the surrounding rolling hills.

The roof is planted with over 50 plant species native to San Francisco. The three-year research period during which RANA designed, built, and monitored a series of living roof mock-ups, informed this diverse assemblage of indigenous plants, as well as the soil retention and drainage techniques ultimately chosen for the project. The California Academy of Sciences is unique amongst natural history museums in its dedication to combining research and education under one roof.

Green Roofs for Healthy Cities Award of Excellence – Institutional Project, 2008, Urban Land Institute “Award for Excellence,” 2008

COMPLETED

2008

CLIENT

California Academy of Sciences

LOCATION

San Francisco, CA

TEAM

Renzo Piano Building Workshop, RANA The Cohabitat Co., Chong + Partners, SWA Group, ARUP