San Francisco - California Academy of Sciences (English, Italian, Paperback)

The story of the project evolves from the first visit to the site at the inauguration, through sketches, drawings, models, notes and memories of Renzo Piano. It becomes a sort of travel journal, immediate and powerful. The story of Renzo Piano and the testimonials of scientists and engineers have been recorded and faithfully transcribed, so that the reader can live the adventure of this project, accompanied by the voice of the protagonists. A text at the end of the book provides the reader with a "behind the scene" view, from the relationship with the scientists to the choice of the materials, to the research of the most suitable solutions for that museum and the specific context in which it was built. It is a story of a museum of sciences which becomes itself the subject of naturalistic studies, the container and the content; according to Renzo's opinion "this century has led to the awareness of the fragility of the Earth, and it is up to us architects, here and now, to find a new language that celebrates sustainability". The research that has been done for this project led to the conquest of a Platinum level in LEED certification (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).