The renovated California Academy of Sciences opens this weekend in Golden Gate Park. Some quick links on the Renzo Piano-designed building:
A Building That Blooms and Grows, Balancing Nature and Civilization
Nicolai Ouroussoff’s review in the New York Times
The ethereality of the academy’s structure suggests a form of reparations for the great harm humans have done to the natural world. It is best to tread lightly in moving forward, [Piano] seems to say. This is not a way of avoiding hard truths; he means to shake us out of our indolence.
Green Architecture’s Grand Experiment
A three-part story by Metropolis
“The old model of the natural history museum is the search for eternal truths,” [former Academy scientist Patrick] Kociolek says, referring to traditional exhibits such as dioramas, which can remain unchanged for generations. “To me, that’s the antithesis of science. Science is not this collection of facts that you put on a wall. It’s a very dynamic process. It’s about new hypotheses, new data.”
Sausalito landscape architect SWA Group builds living roof at California Academy of Sciences in S.F.
Profile of the landscape architects who designed the building’s green roof in the Marin Independent Journal
“Science is more influential and relevant to our daily lives than ever before, and natural history museums must deal head-on with issues of the 21st century,” said Gregory Farrington, the academy’s executive director. “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.”
Above photo: Tim Griffith