‘Worlds of wonder at new Academy of Sciences’

SFGate.com has a great article on the new $484 million California Academy of Sciences building that should open at the end of September.  The new Academy building boasts adherence to LEED (Leadership in Environmental Design) standards with Incredibly advanced concepts like:

Water World

The water in the saltwater aquarium comes straight from the Pacific Ocean, nearly three miles away. Beneath Ocean Beach, a network of pipes extends like fingers beneath the sand, drawing in saltwater. The sand acts as a natural filter, removing the largest impurities before the water fills the storage tanks in the building. The two original continuously running high-pressure pumps at the pumping station have been upgraded. Soon, with one new low-flow pump and another high-flow pump, the staff can deliver precisely the amount of water needed without spilling off large quantities of excess water into wastewater systems.

Rain and Run-off

The Academy will use reclaimed wastewater from the city of San Francisco for some of its internal plumbing needs and all of its public landscaping. The new system is intended to irrigate the entire park.

The 2.5 acres of Living Roof will absorb nearly two million gallons of rainwater per year that would otherwise go down the drain and tax the city’s water treatment plant. During heavy downpours when the living rooftop is at maximum capacity, water will be siphoned off the roof to an underground water table recharge system. Filtered through sand and gravel, the rainwater will naturally percolate back into the water table of Golden Gate Park, and not into a storm drain.

KQED’s Quest series has a great video on the construction of the new structure that you can find here.