Commercial Architecture and Interior Design | Arts and Mixed-Use | Adaptive Re-use
Louisville, Kentucky
Completed: 2009 Louisville, Kentucky thegreenbuilding.net
AWARDS
The Louisville Downtown Management District’s 2008 Cornerstone Award for “significant contribution to the revitalization of downtown Louisville.”
Kentucky Small Business Air Quality Stewardship Award 2008
LEED Platinum Certification
U.S. Green Building Council Award, 2009
First LEED Platinum project in Louisville
First LEED certified adaptive re-use project in Kentucky
Excellence in Design Award Finalist
Environmental Design & Construction Award, 2009
Best New Green Project in the Midwest
Real Estate & Construction Review Award, 2010
Environmental Pacesetter Award
The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection Award, 2011
Project Description
The 14,500 SF Green Building is a beacon for the arts in downtown Louisville and has been the catalyst for revitalizing the long-distressed and nearly forgotten East Market district. As a modern, award-winning architectural project, it is a flagship for authentic sustainable urban commercial design and construction, embracing every principle of environmental stewardship including, but not limited to:
preserving and adaptively re-using a 110-year-old former dry goods store,
relying on local vendors and suppliers,
using locally available and/or recycled materials wherever possible,
creating non-CO2 energy via 81 solar arrays,
conserving energy and natural resources and reducing the building’s carbon footprint by utilizing a geothermal heating and cooling system supplemented by an 1100-gallon ice storage system,
practicing sustainable water management with an extensive rain-water collection and distribution system along with a “green” roof, and by utilizing a special control system to meter the HVAC system, water usage, and energy performance.
To fulfill its purpose as an arts and community center, the Green Building’s architectural core features a dramatic 40-foot-high lobby filled with natural light from a glass “spine” overhead. The main gallery houses a movie-screening room and a monthly rotating gallery. An outdoor courtyard doubles as warm-weather events space. And a street-side café invites the city at large to enjoy the building. A separate entrance leads visitors along an interior “street” to the three-story-clear lobby. Consequently, the Green Building is one of the city’s favorite destinations for cultural, political, and community gatherings.
Credits
Architecture and Interior Design:
Douglas Pierson (as partner with (fer) studio)
Matt Margarine, Daren Chen,
Photography: Ted Wathen, Quadrant Studios