Going Like Sixty
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 San Francisco's Academy of Sciences Lovers of eco-friendly buildings will not be disappointed with the hippies in NoCal. This fall, the new museum will be open and the public will have the chance to see what is under those giant bulges covered with grass and flowers. The roof alone is a marvel. “The $484-million structure will most likely be the largest public building ever to qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council’s “platinum” LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating,” according to Popular Science. “The designation, so far held by just 70 buildings worldwide, is the highest honor in green construction.” The building, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, insulates and ventilates the huge museum below. The living rooftop is tiled with 50,000 biodegradable trays made of coconut husks layered to keep plants in place.
 Beneath the roof, museumgoers will find a natural-history museum, a planetarium, a rainforest with free-flying birds, a coral reef inhabited by 4,000 fish, and an aquarium filled with saltwater pumped in from the Pacific Ocean. The most influential display, though, may well be the marriage of the museum’s physical design with its educational mission. “It’s not about dusty stuffed animals,” says executive director Greg Farrington. “It’s about human survival and living in harmony on planet Earth.”
(popsci)References: popsci Comment: on Eco Museums |
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