Academy of Sciences/Tim Griffith

The replacement museum in Golden Gate Park for the quake-damaged California Academy of Sciences opened as scheduled on Sept. 27. The building was designed by architect Renzo Piano with a 2.5-acre planted-roof exhibit that contains 1.7 million native plants and seven hills, reminiscent of San Francisco’s. The 410,000-sq-ft development, which contains a natural history museum, a planetarium, an aquarium, a rain forest and natural science research facilities, has been under way since 1999. Constructing the facility was challenging, thanks to its steep slopes and lack of repetition, says Webcor Builders.

Academy of Sciences/Tim Griffith