A Scientific Experiment Grows in San Francisco

A lavish new garden in San Francisco is giving Golden Gate Park a run for its money. And it's on a roof.

San Francisco's new Academy of Sciences building is topped with seven rolling hills meant to resemble the city's own geography, four native ground covers and five local wildflowers. The 1.7 million plants grow in 50,000 biodegradable coconut husk trays. Impressive.

The museum is also built to achieve a platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

With this bold statement, perhaps architectural landscapers and green roofers will someday rival other dramatic museum architects, such as Frank Gehry – the legendary creator of the Guggenheim museums. People might tell their friends they're going to the new museum with the green roof designed by (in this case) Paul Kephart of Rana Creek Living Architecture in Carmel Valley. Well, maybe not. But the roof is sure to wow many.

Green roofs are rapidly gaining in popularity, and it's easy to see why. They can cut a building's heat loss by 50 percent, reduce air-conditioning costs by 25 percent and reduce the urban heat island effect by a few degrees. In the United States, Chicago may be the biggest leader in green roofing, having planted more than 2.3 million square feet of rooftop gardens. But with famously green policy and guts, it seems San Francisco could have a very green future.