MUSEUM
(Above left) Color of Water; (above right) visitors are invited to think with their hands with exhibits such as soap fi lm painting
Refurbishing and seismically upgrading a historic pier that spans the length of almost three football fi elds over the water was a major engineering feat. Piles underneath the bay had to be driven to a depth of 160ft
beyond. The new site at Pier 15 is tri- ple the size of its predecessor, meaning there’s room for three times the number of teachers who come to learn. The Learning Commons, Learning Studio and Forum provide additional places for the general community and educational professionals to gather and learn.
How does it differ to the original? The original site was housed in an aero- plane hanger-type hall, which was one long, continuous space. Largely without walls and with no windows to the out- side, visitors wandered in a vast, loosely organised collection of exhibits – some likened it to a scientifi c penny arcade. The new space, which retains the
laboratory feel of the Exploratorium, houses six separate galleries. For the fi rst time, exhibits are fea-
tured outdoors, taking advantage of the city and bay to encourage visitors to observe and engage in their environ- ments like never before. The new site has the Bay Observatory,
designed to allow visitors to explore the science of the bay, the landscape and the human impacts that have shaped the Bay Area. The new Exploratorium also offers an Outdoor Gallery that
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includes 1.5 acres of free, public, open space for visitors to enjoy the views and play with participatory exhibits tied to the surrounding environment.
What’s the new design? Designed by San Francisco-based EHDD Architecture, a leader in sustain- able design, the new Exploratorium is green inside and out. Taking advantage of the piers’ location on the bay, the museum offsets as much energy as pos- sible with a 1.3 megawatt photovoltaic array on the roof, an innovative bay water heating and cooling system and other components that contribute to the Exploratorium’s goal of being a LEED Gold, net-zero energy facility – probably the largest net-zero energy museum in the USA, or even the world. Refurbishing and seismically upgrad- ing a historic pier that spans the length of almost three football fi elds over the water is a major engineering feat. For the rehabilitation of Pier 15, the asphalt parking lot between Piers 15 and 17 was removed. This provides a civic space on the Embarcadero, with the newly exposed bay taking centre stage down the middle between the two piers – open water traversed by two pedestrian
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bridges. Piles underneath the bay had to be driven to a depth of 160ft (49m) to replace, or repair and seismically upgrade, hundreds of dilapidated pilings and the substructure, which date back to the early 20th century. At the same time, upgrades to the
interior of Pier 15, preserving its truss structure, which covers the 820ft (250m)-length of the pier. The interior of the museum has large exhibit galler- ies, separated by buildings within the main building that are set in from the walls to take advantage of natural light, reducing the energy needed to power the facility during the day. In addition, recycled and low-emitting materials were used, along with certifi ed wood and high-performance glass to reduce heat gain. As a historic preservation, the building was always conceived as a backdrop for the exhibits, not as competition for them. The Observatory Building is the only
completely new construction on the piers. It stands at the San Francisco Bay end of Pier 15 and is a mostly glass structure – conceived like an aperture – through which spectacular views of both the city and the bay are incorporated into the exhibits.
AM 2 2013 ©Cybertrek 2013
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