Photos: Academy of Sciences' living roof

Views of Golden Gate Park from the new facility are expected to strengthen the Academy's relationship to the park and the surroundings, like the de Young Museum and the Music Concourse.

The new Academy is one of the pilot "green building" projects of the San Francisco Department of the Environment, part of an initiative to develop models for workable, sustainable public architecture. When complete, the facility will employ energy-efficient, environmentally sensitive building technologies that, officials say, will set a new standard for sustainable architecture in civic buildings.

Photo by James Martin/CNET News.com