San Francisco Academy of Sciences Going Platinum-Green with Help of SWA Group Landscape Architecture
SAUSALITO, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
The new San Francisco Academy of Sciences, opening Sept. 27, is
expected to be awarded a Platinum-LEED rating for its sustainability
characteristics, due in large part to the multiple benefits of the
building's complex "living laboratory" green roof. The 2.5-acre
rooftop landscape, an implementation by SWA Group of architect Renzo
Piano's design, is aimed to demonstrate sustainable building-design as
a new standard for the future.
The Academy's living roof is a critical component in earning a
coveted Platinum designation, the highest of all standards in the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Development (LEED) program
sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council. But in many ways, the
Academy of Sciences is going beyond LEED in providing a highly visible
example of how structures can reduce energy consumption, improve water
quality, enhance local ecosystems and plant/animal habitat, and help
reverse pollution and global warming.
"The Academy of Sciences leadership was truly visionary in making
this building a bold statement of its mission to explore, explain and
protect the natural world," said John Loomis, principal of SWA Group.
SWA, one of the world's leading landscape architecture and urban
design firms, provided landscape design in concert with Piano,
project-architect Stantec Group, contractor Webcor Builders, ARUP
engineers and plant-specialist Rana Creek.
Design innovation on the Academy's green roof provides insights
and a demonstration-example for the building and construction
industry, he said, including:
-- Green roofs on extreme slopes: SWA Group pioneered the
infrastructure that enables the Academy roof to accommodate plant and
soil material at a 55-degree slope, unheard of in the industry until
now. Its solution, following extensive mock-ups and testing, called
for a system of criss-crossing wire-enclosures containing light
volcanic rock. Called gabion curbs, the interlocked, now-invisible
network holds the soil in place, and also serves as a water-runway to
channel rainwater in storms that exceed the capacity of the soil's
absorption.
-- Water quality: Like green roofs in general, the roof will
absorb some 98% of all storm water each year, thereby reducing
pollutants from entering the neighboring ecosystem.
-- Reduced Heat-Island effect: A living roof helps diminish the
"Urban Heat Island" effect, which raises the temperature in cities
because of the heat bounced off of buildings and concrete versus the
natural environment. Scientists have measured temperature
differentials of one degree or more in the urban core versus
surrounding suburbs.
-- Energy and cost savings: A green roof surface averages about 40
degrees cooler than standard roofs, which among other benefits
ultimately cuts energy consumption by enhancing a building's natural
cooling ability. The roof is expected to last many years longer than a
standard roof, in part because it does not have the vast
temperature-swings of other roofs.
-- Environmental enhancement: The highly-diverse rooftop
ecosystem, developed in concert with Rana Creek and the Academy's own
staff, provides habitat for native birds, butterflies and other
creatures.
"The completion of this teaching structure is a tribute to the
Academy and the entire team," said Loomis, whose firm has implemented
many green roofs for more than 25 years, "and we anticipate that
building designers and developers will gain new insights as we
continue to study the roof's performance and benefits."
About SWA Group
SWA Group (www.swagroup.com), established in 1957, is an
international landscape architecture, planning and urban design firm.
Headquarters are in Sausalito, CA and other offices are in Laguna
Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston and Shanghai.
Heckmann Communications
Ron Heckmann, 510-652-5800
ron@heckmanncommunications.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
