That was a saying I first heard from my professor Susan Ubbelhode during graduate school at UC Berkeley. It is very true that many architects have held prejudices against “green” architecture for years, fearing that people would associate them with houses built out of used tires and structures that look like failed science fair entries. This attitude has changed slowly, and only to a large degree in the past 5 years. San Francisco’s new California Academy of Sciences by Renzo Piano is the newest example of Architecture (with a capital A) embracing sustainable principles and technology (not to say this is Mr. Piano’s first “green” building, however).
I visited this building last weekend, which is “the greenest museum in the world” according to the San Francisco Business Times. While that quote may be debatable, it did obtain a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council (the highest award possible). This makes it the only museum to achieve this level of certification.
The main hall inside the entrance is a spectacular space. The interior courtyard is covered with a curved glass ceiling suspended by cables -it’s hard not to find yourself staring upward in awe. The rainforest display, in a glass sphere with a ramp spiraling up the interior, is similarly impressive. It is enormous, yet at the same time retains a delicacy rivaled only by the butterflies within.
My main complaint about the interior is that the aquarium is quite underwhelming in the basement- its entrance feels like you are going into an emergency exit stair or the basement cafeteria at a hospital. Once in the space, there are many dead ends and the lighting levels are too low. Hopefully the exhibits will be fine tuned once the crush of the huge crowd diminishes.
Wait a month or two (when the lines are shorter) and ride your bike to Golden Gate Park to see it for yourself!
