| California Academy of Sciences
The California Academy of Sciences has been chosen as
the recipient of the silver Holcim Award in recognition of
its revolutionary "green" design.
The new headquarters for the California Academy of
Sciences, located in Golden Gate Park, are unlike anything
ever built before. With the goal of earning a rare Platinum
LEED rating in mind, the new CA Academy of Sciences is
designed to take environmental awareness to a whole new
level. Several unique features in the building design,
including a 2.5 acre living roof for which ACCO
provided irrigation, are included to decrease energy
consumption and minimize waste.
ACCO’s plumbing department was asked to
provide some unique plumbing systems such as a reclaimed
water system, a recharge chamber to collect rain for
irrigation and a 10,000 gallon underground diesel storage
tank.
Prior to the start of the project, the ACCO
plumbing project team took advantage of their ability to
visit other local facilities, such as the Monterey Bay
Aquarium, in order to better prepare themselves for the
Academy of Sciences project and to gain a greater
understanding of the specific needs and challenges of a
project of this kind.
After reviewing what was planned for the project,
ACCO was able to make several suggestions in order
to improve the original design, such as stainless hangers
and PVC coatings to prevent corrosion in the salty
environment. The Life Safety Support equipment uses salt
water from a beach pump plant located about a mile away on
Ocean Beach. The beach plant was furnished and installed
by ACCO.
Other recommendations made by ACCO took into
account the aesthetic look desired by the facility’s
designers. For example, ACCO took the original
design of the stainless steel rainwater leaders and helped
redesign and install them exceeding the expectations of the
owner and taking the appearance of the building to a whole
new level.
- Architect - Renzo Piano Building Workshop/Chong Partners
- General Contractor - Webcor Builders
- Engineer - Ove Arup
- Subcontractor - ACCO Engineered Systems
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