I Can't Wait to See the Penguins!

Going to Golden Gate Park was a big part of my childhood. We would go pretty much every summer, as we always came to San Francisco for our annual physicals. I have fond memories of the Japanese Tea Garden, the Asian Art Museum, the de Young Museum, or even just playing in the playground. But what I always looked forward to was visiting the Steinhart Aquarium (or the California Academy of Sciences, as it is referred to now). I think that's what started my elementary school aged obsession with penguins (emphasis on the "PEN").

The end of this month, the CAS (wonderful website, by the way -- check out the PenguinCams!) will reopen its doors after an astonishing remodel. It's taken ten years and great vision to unify the Academy's twelve buildings into one notable structure. Under one Living Roof, the new Academy contains a planetarium, aquarium, and natural history museum. When the facility opens, the Academy hopes to earn the highest rating-platinum- for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED). Pritzker Prize-winning architect Renzo Piano, working with the Genoa-based Renzo Piano Building Workshop (RPBW), in collaboration with the San Francisco-based Chong Partners, has created one of the city's greenest buildings. It's really quite fascinating what they have accomplished:

• 90% of all demolition materials were recycled
  
• 32,000 tons of sand from foundation excavation applied to dune restoration projects in San Francisco
  
• 95% of all steel from recycled sources
  
• 15% fly ash (a recycled coal by-product), 35% slag in concrete
  
• 50% of lumber harvested from sustainable-yield forests
  
• 68% of insulation comes from recycled blue jeans
  
• 90% of office space will have natural light and ventilation
  
• 60,000 photovoltaic cells; 213,000 kilowatt-hours; 5% to 10% savings of electricity
  
• 30% less energy consumption than federal code requirement

And even with such a strong focus on being green, they did not slack on the overall design aesthetic one bit. The building is breathtaking to say the least.

Opening weekend celebration starts the 27th, with free admission on Saturday. You can find the details here.