A Living Museum in Golden Gate Park

Renzo Piano's new Academy of Sciences building in San Francisco is bursting with green technology and alive with plants.

1 minute read

September 24, 2008, 12:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur


"Inside the sober exterior of the California Academy of Sciences, an elevator plunges through four stories of rain forest into a glass-tunnel swamp alive with wriggling armored catfish and spotted peacock bass. It's the most fun you could have while being hectored to save the planet.

The academy opens its sparkling new building in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on Sept. 27, replacing a complex severely damaged in a 1989 earthquake. It's a research institution, but to the public it is an occasionally unwieldy combination of the Kimball Natural History Museum, Steinhart Aquarium and Morrison Planetarium. Every penny of its hefty $488 million cost is on view, gorgeously packaged by the Italian architect Renzo Piano.

Its overarching messages are the essential role of evolution in the work of the natural sciences and the urgency of addressing global climate change. In Piano's design, the medium is the message."

Tuesday, September 23, 2008 in Bloomberg.com

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view of red brick multi-story power plant building in Pittsburgh, PA.

Defunct Pittsburgh Power Plant to Become Residential Tower

A decommissioned steam heat plant will be redeveloped into almost 100 affordable housing units.

July 4 - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Cyclist on protected bike lane in middle of street in Washington D.C. with Washington Monument obelisk visible in background.

Trump Prompts Restructuring of Transportation Research Board in “Unprecedented Overreach”

The TRB has eliminated more than half of its committees including those focused on climate, equity, and cities.

July 4 - Streetsblog USA

Blue and silver Amtrak train at small station.

Amtrak Rolls Out New Orleans to Alabama “Mardi Gras” Train

The new service will operate morning and evening departures between Mobile and New Orleans.

July 3 - New Orleans City Business