Philip’s Garden Blog

Eleven years ago the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao opened its doors to visitors from all over the world, and thus ushered in “The Bilbao Effect”. Cities wishing to be considered “world class” and attract those tourist dollars have since constructed remarkable structures to house cultural institutions, from the Getty Center in Los Angeles to the new museum of Islamic Art in Doha, Qatar. These museums put the capital “A” in architecture and I think of them as the cathedrals of our time. The impulse which built the Canterbury cathedral and sent thousands on the Way of St. James to Santiago de Compostela was of course by nature, spiritual. Within that paradigm, however, was also the desire to get out into the world and see something new, to gather together with others and to be inspired.

The California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco recently opened its doors to a wildly enthusiastic public. Located on the site of the previous academy which had been damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the new academy designed by Renzo Piano not only houses a stunning collection of exhibits celebrating the natural world, but, in the tradition begun at Bilbao, the building is itself a star attraction. This building, however, takes the next leap by going beyond architectural theatrics. Receiving platinum certification under the LEED program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) the academy boasts an impressive list of recycled materials and energy savings. Rather than merely discussing environmental concerns such as climate change and alternative energy, the new academy is an environmental philosophy made real in three dimensions.

One of the things that I particularly wanted to see during my visit to the academy was “The Living Roof”. Green roofs in other applications have shown to reduce the “heat island effect” of higher urban temperatures due to large expanses of black tar roofs and pavement. Green roofs reduce the interior temperatures of buildings reducing energy costs for cooling. The living roof incorporates these qualities with an original and artistic arrangement of undulating hillocks which lies over the domes of the interior rainforest and planetarium. To keep the soil and plants secured on the slopes, an ingenious solution was developed by the firm, Rana Creek. Biodegradable trays with planting mix were placed like tiles over the structure. A collection of native plants knit the whole together.

California native plants thrive in this environment despite months of drought. Floral displays of California aster Aster chilensis delight as well as provide an important nectar source for butterflies and bees.

Upright stands of purple flowering Prunella vulgaris emerge from wild strawberry Fragaria chiloensis.

Numerous plants are yet to emerge. Look for glorious displays this spring of pink flowering Sea Thrift Armeria maritima, yellow and white Tidy Tips Layia platyglossa, and orange california poppies Eschscholzia californica.

The glass roof of the central piazza can be glimpsed from above

The academy’s central piazza is a place for people to relax in an atmosphere of structual lightness and transparancy.

Views of the surrounding park are invited into the museum. The twisting copper tower of the neighboring De Young musuem is enjoyed from the piazza as a kind of monumental sculpture.

I spoke with Larry Reed and John Loomis, landscape architects with the firm SWA Group who designed and implemented the construction of the academy gardens. They described that when the living roof was first installed and before the planting trays had time to set, they came to the central piazza each morning grateful that the plantings had not collapsed into the piazza below! The Living Roof, seen from below, has proven to be a technological success as well as an artistic one.

The living roof is enjoyed by visitors from a viewing platform. This arrangement brings to mind the Karesansui, Japanese viewing gardens. The roof terrain is an abstraction of the hills of San Francisco, contemplated from a set location.

From the viewing platform one can see the band of photovoltaic cells which contributes to the energy needs of the academy.

The living roof affords new vistas into the park. Beyond the concourse is the Japanese Tea garden and the De Young Museum sculpture garden.

Flanking the academy are the east and west gardens. At first glance, I thought these gardens were lacking in much to interest the plantsperson. After being in them for a bit I found that their direct approach with rectangles of expansive grass was the perfect counterpoint to the busy interior. After visiting the busy academy’s exhibits, the gardens are a respite where childeren can run around and people relax.

A hanging sculpture by Maya Lin and carved sculptures of animals by Benny Bufano grace the grounds.

Landscape architects Larry Reed and John Loomis describe the former site of the east garden as a “cesspool of trash cans and concrete. The former academy was a collection of mis-matched buildings. The new academy has a smaller footprint, allowing the creation of the gardens. The new design is also pulled back from the site of the Shakespeare Garden.”

 

“The forests of Golden Gate Park were in decline” according to Reed and Loomis.
“Pine trees were dying, and rather than try to recreate a formal 19th century style garden, SWA group focused on de-selecting pine trees and planting redwoods. Understory plantings of oak and bay laurel were established to impove the park’s forest in a wholistic way”

If you plan to visit the academy, I would recommend becoming a member. It would be less expensive in the long run if you plan to visit more than once and there are times set aside for admittance to members only . The academy is worthy of support not only for the museum itself, but for the important contributions it makes to the field of science.

From the Academy’s website:

The California Academy of Sciences is a multifaceted scientific institution committed to leading-edge research, to educational outreach, and to finding new and innovative ways to engage and inspire the public.

The Academy’s mission - to explore, explain and protect the natural world - extends to all corners of the institution; from a research expedition in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, to a teacher training program in a California classroom, to an interactive game on the museum exhibit floor.

My personal thanks to landscape architects Larry Reed and John Loomis for discussing with me their work on the academy.
http://www.swagroup.com/

For more information of the California Academy of Sciences
http://www.calacademy.org/

Academy Sustainability Statement:

Sustainability is often defined as meeting current human needs without endangering our descendants. There is a broad, scientific consensus that our current environmental demands are unsustainable, causing climate change, degradation of natural habitats, loss of species, and shortages of essential resources.

The California Academy of Sciences’ mission to explore, explain and protect the natural world compels the Academy to engage in scientific research relevant to sustainability, to raise public awareness about these urgent problems, and to minimize its own environmental impact.

The Academy’s green building signifies its commitment to sustainability. The culture and internal practices mirror that commitment in the areas of energy, water, waste management, transportation, purchasing and food. Academy programs highlight the living world and its connection to the changing global environment. Academy research focuses on the origins and maintenance of life’s diversity, and its expeditions roam the world, gathering scientific data to answer the questions, “How has life evolved, and how can it be sustained?”

Planted smack dab in the middle of San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza is a demonstration garden of edible and ornamental plants that has the potential to not only create a radical shift in our food production, but a re-imagining of the garden itself.

“Utopian ideas with real world applications” is the way that artist and designer Amy Franceschini describes her work. While travelling in Ghent in the the east Flanders province of Belgium, Franceschini  discovered that this city underwrote private vegetable gardens as being considered critical for local food supply and the health of the environment.

Amy Franceschini believed that our “centralized” agricultural system led to food production far from urban centers. Not only was this wasteful in fuel, but in turn led to higher prices at the supermarket. Growing produce locally in under-utilized backyards and public lands in urban environments meant that organic practices in food production could be insured. Food and fuel independence in uncertain times is also a national security issue. Inspired, Franceschini turned her sights to that most innovative of American cities, San Francisco.  Joining with Blair Randall of The Garden for the Environment, San Francisco’s non-profit demonstration garden, a pilot project funded by the city of San francisco named Victory Gardens 2008+ was created. This program calls for:

A more active role for cities in shaping agricultural and food policy. This program offers tools, training, & materials for urban dwellers to participate in a city-wide transformation of underutilized backyards, public lands, school yards, and marginal urban sites— turning them into productive growing spaces.  The SF Victory Garden program builds on the successful Victory Garden programs of WWI and WWII but redefines “Victory” in the pressing context of urban sustainability.  “Victory” is growing food at home for increased local food security and reducing the food miles associated with the average American meal.

The city hall gardens inhabit the same site used as a victory garden during WWII. In the 1943 image above, the victory gardens here were utilized more as a demonstration garden, but it inspired an enthusiastic populace to plant victory gardens in Golden Gate Park and throughout the region.Victory gardens throughout the US in the 1940’s accounted for 41% of the national food production!

The City Hall gardens today are sponsored by Slow Food Nation, Seeds of Change who specialize in 100% certified organic, openpollinated seeds, and The Studio for Urban Projects which focuses on art, architecture, ecology, and the public realm to generate projects that re-imagine the urban landscape.

I spoke with Blair Randall,  Victory Gardens 08+ Program Director, about the structure of the planting areas. He explained that, “The raised beds of rich composted topsoil was necessary as the existing soil under the Civic Center Plaza was sandy and low in fertility like many parts of San Francisco. The circular paths between the beds aided in harvesting.”  Drip irrigation, shown with black tubes in the image above, is an integral part of their approach. Water-wise drip irrigation is necessary in an environment which experiences drought and water scarcity. The traditional kind of jet spray irrigation is inefficient and also contributes to powdery mildew in this climate of dry days and foggy nights.

Randall continues, “This also becomes a matter of good public policy for cities with municipal gardens who wish to set a standard of water conservation.”

Bold effects are achieved with contrasting plantings of chartreuse and bronze colored leaves. It is exciting to consider that this new approach to vegetable and edible landscapes has not only environmental benefits, but also innovative aesthetic possibilities.

While strolling through this garden, I could not help but notice a profusion of flowering plants both in their own beds, as well as incorporated within the beds of edible plants. These flowering plants are used to attract pollinators. Featured here are California native plants such as the pink flowering Clarkia amoena, and two species of Baby Blue Eyes, Nemophila menziesii, and Nemophila maculata “baby five spot”

In many home gardens, households struggle between those who have an interest in edible plants, and those for whom it is not a garden without flowers. Traditionally, except for a tidy row of marigolds, flowers were banished from the vegetable patch. Adventurous gardeners may have included the artichoke in the flowering perennial border, but generally an apartheid of species prevailed. In the wholistic approach of  Victory Gardens 08+, both flowering  and edible plants are integral for a healthy ecosystem.

The focus of Victory Gardens 08+ is of course on edible plants, fruits and vegetables. What is striking to me personally is that when plants such as the squash shown above is elevated as a garden feature, considerations of  the plants usefulness as a food source also takes on new meanings. What may have been taken for granted in a plant which provided food in the past, now in this context can be appreciated for its aesthetic, emotional and spiritual qualities.

 The gardens featured here attracted an incredibly large and diverse crowd of people who wanted to experience this place with their families and connect with others. In my last visit to this garden I sat on the straw bales which define the perimeter and had a great time chatting with the people next to me. Watching the huge crowds of people enjoying this garden I saw young people taking in the scene, an Asian grandfather excitedly pointing out plants to his family, gardeners in straw hats, mothers and fathers. It came to me that even though people could certainly visit a community garden to see edible plants, it was the very fact that this garden was placed in our most public of places, the Civic Center Plaza, that created a setting where everyone felt they could participate. Blair Russell  remarked “This garden in this particular setting creates a civic engagement; people of all backgrounds come together here and discuss what kind of city they want to live in.”

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