Yesterday, I posted a photograph of the Living Roof of the California Academy of Sciences. The roof is an integral part in the Academy’s cooling and ventilation system. The Piazza contributes to this passive cooling system since cool air “drains” down the slope of the Living Roof in the evening. At the center of the building there is a piazza that has a glass roof. That roof will open at night and the cool air will drain into the Piazza. To cool the building, they open windows at the base of the Piazza so the cool air flows into the building causing the warm air to rise and circulate out the open port holes in the Living Roof (see yesterday’s Post and watch the video). A very clever and efficient system and the building needs no mechanical air conditioning system.

The Piazza Structure at the California Academy of Sciences

(Click on the photo to enlarge.)

The photo was taken with a Canon EOS 40D, EF17-40mm f/4L lens, f/13, ISO 200 on SanDisk Extreme IV Digital Film. Black and white processing was done with Nik Silver Efex Pro 2. (Click on the comment number bubble to leave a comment.)