Greener Than Thou is our report on San Francisco’s obsession with all things green, calling bullshit in the poseurs and lavishing praise on those who have secured their place in environmental paradise. Feeling a little green? Send us the tip love!
Multitasking gone wild (or at least natural)! Rana Creek, a Point Reyes and Carmel Valley-based firm focused on "living architecture" and "regenerative design," announced that it will serve as "lead ecologist" in constructing the Transbay Terminal Center's 5.4-acre "urban park" roof. Check out the announced features of the public park thus far:
· Seventy feet up form the street level.
· Fights climate change while saving money.
· Treats all water from the adjacent 82-story Transbay Terminal Tower.
· Filters and processes exhaust from the railways below.
· Commuter buses will power "kinetic fountains" to aerate water for rooftop wetlands (the spirit of Goldberg lives!)
· Houses more than six native plant communities.
· Protects endangered species, like the Bay checkerspot butterfly.
Whew—quite a lot of responsibility for one little manufactured ecosystem. No news on if the roof will serve to keep those underneath it sheltered from the elements. Recent work by Rana Creek includes a collaboration on the 2.5 acre California Academy of Sciences' living roof in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
· Rana Creek Wins Contract to Design Green Roof on San Francisco Transbay Terminal Center [PR Newswire via Yahoo!]
· Rana Creek [website]
Idyllic grass shot courtesy Rana Creek