California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco CA

As the largest LEED Platinum building in the world, the new California Academy of Sciences merges nature, education and research along with housing the Steinhart Aquarium, Morrison Planetarium and the Kimball Natural History Museum. Designed by world-famous architect, Renzo Piano, the building unifies what were once 12 separate buildings now under one “living roof” and symbolizes the organization’s commitment to future collaboration towards protecting and educating about nature. Not only does CAS hope to inspire the public with the new building, they have also improved their workspaces to inspire their own employees and improve collaboration from within. Where their previous space separated the teams to opposite ends of the buildings, the new space utilizes Teknion’s low-panel leverage desking system to create one large collaborative space. The low panel desks also ensure that, like everywhere else in the building, you can see the park from any point.

Photography: David Wakely