California Academy of Sciences Green Building Virtual Tour

BBC’s Storyworks division specialises in telling stories online, through high-end innovative web content. Their latest challenge was to bring to life examples of sustainable architecture from around the world for the World Green Buildings Council. All as part of a drive to raise awareness of how thoughtful construction can contribute to the fight against climate change. 

They approached Circus to create the first piece of immersive 360 content for the BBC site – an interactive virtual tour through the famous California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. 

We worked with the BBC and the Academy to understand the key campaign messaging and how it connected with stories from the museum’s history, operations and exhibits. Then oranised a shoot, capturing high-resolution 360 images in some of the museum’s most iconic locations, as well as some behind-the-scenes where visitors aren’t normally allowed. 

The finished web experience opens with a 4K drone video, setting the building in the context of the beautiful Golden Gate Park, with the city skyline behind. From there, you step down to ground level to explore five zones, each represented by a pair of 360 views which include architectural features and innovative green technology as well as staff, visitors and animals.

Your exploration is enhanced with voice over audio from some of the museum’s leaders and experts, talking about what makes the institution special. And every 360 scene is embellished with animated interactive hotspots, containing information about the building and its exhibits.

Finally, to make the tour as inclusive and valuable as possible, we added accessibility features and analytics tracking. 

Can’t wait to get starting on the next BBC story!