renzo piano’s california academy of sciences is among the largest museums of natural history in the world
the living roof´s 1.7 million native plants were specially chosen to flourish in golden gate park´s climate, and provide controlled natural ventilation.
the california academy of science – or AOS – designed by renzo piano consists of two buildings, each with approximately 27.43 m high, free-standing glass domes that house the planetarium and the living rain forest. a glass-covered piazza covering 183 square meters and approximately 1,160 square meters of variable exhibition space lies in between. the now five-year-old facility dramatically increased its reach and impact, doubling from about 750,000 to 1.5 million visitors annually and nearly tripling the number of students it teaches through fieldtrips and after school programs from 62,000 to 175,000.
inaugurated on 27 september 2008, the structure is worthy of superlatives:
not only was this natural history museum singled out according to the criteria of the U.S. green building council on october 7, 2008 as the most sustainable building of its kind, it is also a multi-faceted work of art that evokes the history and architecture of san francisco. for the building structure and shell, architect renzo piano used his knowledge of bionics, meaning the physical construction principles were derived from biology.