The California Academy of Sciences is at the core of the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. It is a classical sample of a large representative civic building in a central spot of a public park. Loma Prieta earthquake in 1988 damaged the original building beyond repair, and italian architect Renzo Piano (co-author of the Pompidou Center in Paris) was called for reconstruction. The idea (that can be clearly perceived in the google map) is to bring back the building area to plants through an interesting planted roof. The building has received a high mark according to the LEED sustainable development rating system (10% of the energy used by the building is generated through its on-site solar cells, and the six inches of earth on the roof are a high insulation envelope). More information on this remarkable building at:

http://www.calacademy.org/academy/building/sustainable_design/
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