How did the world’s largest LEED-certified natural history museum and scientific center design its public restrooms to be eco-friendly?

“It was our internal Green Team that came up with the idea of installing an automated hand dryer in the public restrooms,” said Erin Riley, project manager for the California Academy of Sciences, a multi-level, single structure filled with hundreds of innovative exhibits and thousands of plants and animals. It contains an aquarium, a planetarium, a natural history museum, and a four-story rainforest. In addition, there is a 3D theater, a lecture hall, a Naturalist Center, two restaurants, a garden and aviary, a roof terrace and a store.

“We had made the decision to compost paper towels used in the staff facilities, but wanted something with a sleek design for guests of the Academy, which is nestled in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. It was an add-on that wasn’t suggested by architects, but by our own people.”

When the Academy began researching automated hand dryers, they were looking for a machine that is sleek, quieter and quicker than the competition. They tested two dryers, and went with the one that met those three criteria, and also offers a heated stream of air, rather than a cold blast like users have become used to.