“It is much more than a museum, it is a small city of natural sciences, impregnated with a century of history and ethical passion in defence of the environment”. With these words Renzo Piano described his first impressions of the Californian Academy of Sciences (the prestigious museum of natural science which houses 18 million biological, botanical and geological specimens) during the presentation of his refurbishment project which took place some days ago in San Francisco.

With the aim of placing the museum in harmony with the natural surroundings of Golden Gate Park in which it is immersed, the Italian architect has conceived a “green architecture”, an organic construction in terms of form and materials which will bring together the twelve buildings of the Academy which have been built over the last eight years. The principal element will be the roof, green and curved like the Californian hills “I have conceived it as a membrane stretched over the elements of the museum” stated Piano “its ‘bulges’ corrispond to the two large geospheres which house the planetarium and the tropical forest”.

On the roof, a part of which can be accessed via a terrace, will be real earth and plants typical of a natural eco-system as well as the breeze of the Californian coast, captured between its waves and carried to the exhibition spaces: ‘natural’ air conditioning’. “The central piazza will have a particular microclimate” he further explains “produced by the combination of sun and wind, a synthesis of the climatic conditions of San Francisco.

The construction itself will also be under the name of ‘sustainability’: a great deal of timber and other recyclable materials will be used for building, and water from the ocean will feed the aquarium and cool the buildings.

During building works – which are due to start at the beginning of 2004, to be concluded four years later, the Academy will be temporarily housed in another site in San Francisco and will be offering an extensive programme of exhibitions and events on the entire Bay Area. The overall cost of the operation – including building works, setting up of exhibitons and the move to the temporary site – is around 370 million dollars.

https://www.calacademy.org
https://www.rpbw.it