2.5-acre native living roof part of smart building design

It’s one of the most expansive and one of the most complex living roofs ever designed- the 197,000-square-foot rooftop is home to 1.7 million native plants-, but the crown on architect Renzo Piano’s California Academy of Sciences is more than simply a home for native plant species. It’s also an integral part of the smart building design. Up here there are weather stations that report on wind, rain and temperature changes to a central computer. This feedback is used to open and shut the roof’s skylights to create automated passive ventilation. In other words, this smart system means the building doesn’t need air conditioning.
Original story here: http://faircompanies.com/videos/view/25-acre-native-living-roof-part-smart-buildingsign/
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2.5-acre native living roof part of smart building design

| Green Roofs | 17 Comments
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17 Comments

  • TheVotiveRegent

    @Tompayealive its not "fucking stupid" he said a number of examples that caught my attention (im 14 so dont think im old) like he said, the living roof radiats cool air (unlike normal roofa which radiate hot air.) if this was done in a big city, then the air temputer of the city will be lower, thus the need for A/C would decrease, and money is being saved. then people apend that money which interns boost the economy. thats why its not "fucking stupid" actually your "fucking stupid" for not list

  • delindsay90210

    @Robbob9933 One ALWAYS has to build a structure to suit the climate/zone one lives in. This example shows a mild climate sustainable building. Thermal mass + Solar orienteering + Geothermal space conditioning + Natural lighting = VASTLY superior living space over stick built modern buildings any day.

  • Robbob9933

    @delindsay90210 This roof may be pretty but is it not as efficient as they lead you to believe. The building is in a very mild climate area to begin with. Seven inches of soil (max) provides only a very small insulating factor. You need at least 24 inches to start providing a stable temp. Also by absorbing water and holding it next to the roof, the roof life span is actually reduced and if freezing temps happen… Last they neglect to discuss the extra effort to perfrom roof repairs.

  • MrRockyramjet

    I knew that one generation would go for the Teletubbies lifestyle. Next the NuNu. No parents required. I don't know if I could live on bunny, oatmeal and toast though.

  • Kirsten Dirksen

    @lankey32 I actually filmed the inside, but I put it up as a separate video. I just posted it as a "video response" here. It's called "World's greenest museum: Renzo Piano's CA Academy of Sciences".

  • delindsay90210

    The ironic part about this "technology" is it has existed in human building for thousands of years. It's only recently (the past 1-200 years) that human kind went away from this design and into modern stick built super inefficient buildings because of forced air ventilation or "HVAC" (one of the worst inventions of modern society) and "cheap" energy, i.e. coal. I'm glad to see it's resurfacing on a large scale, even if it's one building at a time.

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