It’s been two years since the grand opening of the new home of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. I got the chance, finally, to explore this magnificent natural science museum and research center. It was just as well that I couldn’t go sooner because the lines are shorter now.
Architect Renzo Piano, the designer of the Centre George Pompidou in Paris and the winner of the 1998 Pritzker Architecture Prize, created the remarkable building. Features such as radiant sub-floor heating and rooftop photovoltaic cells earned the building a coveted platinum award for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).
The highlight for me was the 2½ – acre rooftop native plant garden. The
living carpet covers seven mounds representing San Francisco’s seven hills. Since ancient times, living roofs have served to moderate the heating and cooling needs of buildings. This roof catches 98% of rainwater. The opening and closing of windows and skylights is automatically controlled by a computer that receives data from several rooftop weather stations. Scientists study the succession of the garden’s plant and animal diversity over time. Plant pollination is aided by rooftop colonies of honeybees. About seventy species of California native annual and perennial plants form the living carpet, blooming at different times of the year. Ninety percent of the roof is covered by hardy species such as miniature lupine (Lupinus nanus), self heal (Prunella vulgaris), beach strawberry (Fragaria chiloensis), stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium), sea pink (Armeria maritima), and the ubiquitous California poppy (Eschscholzia californica).
The 400,000-square foot building also houses a planetarium, an aquarium and a rainforest.
You will be treating yourself to a fascinating experience if you visit Cal Academy in lovely San Francisco. Plan your visit at http://www.calacademy.org
Here are some resources at The Seattle Public Library to inspire you:
Frommer’s San Francisco 2010 by Matthew R. Poole (EBook)
Frommer gives the California Academy of Sciences an exceptional rating (three stars). Other Golden Gate Park attractions (such as the de Young Museum of fine art, just across the Concourse) are also described. You can download the entire book, in eBook format, via the Library’s subscription to the OverDrive Digital Books & Media service. Frommer’s Web entry is available at http://www.frommers.com/destinations/sanfrancisco/A43677.html
Wildflowers of California by Larry Ulrich (photography) and Susan Lamb (text)
This beautiful photographic work portrays the vast diversity of California wildflowers in their natural settings.
Introduction to Shore Wildflowers of California, Oregon, and Washington by Philip A. Munz
The University of California Press has created an excellent field guide of shore species and their habitats. Flowers are arranged by color.
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