The Exploratorium is an interactive science museum that is moving from its current home of 40 years near the park-like Presidio to a prominent waterfront site in downtown San Francisco. The project involves the renovation of two decrepit piers, and the removal of a large parking lot/loading dock on pilings to provide net zero energy buildings (LEED Gold) and 2 acres of newly accessible public open space to accommodate large scale outdoor exhibits.
For ten years GLS has worked with the internationally acclaimed and locally treasured Exploratorium, San Francisco’s “Museum of Science, Art and Human Perception”. It was the first hands-on interactive science learning center founded in 1968, and has changed museum culture worldwide. GLS worked with EHDD Architects, first on plans for the renovation of their current home at the Palace of Fine Arts, then on many site feasibility studies related to the search for a new home, and currently on construction drawings for the relocation to Pier 15 and 17 on San Francisco’s rapidly changing Embarcadero waterfront. The GLS scope includes the partial removal and seismic strengthening of a 2 acre asphalt truck loading dock suspended over the bay on pilings; to accommodate regional environmental goals, a new public plaza and outdoor exhibit areas related to the observation of natural phenomena such as wind, fog and tides. GLS has worked with Page and Turnbull and EHDD to integrate the new museum, located in the historic Pier 15 warehouse, with the exterior public outdoor space and exhibits.
