Louisville, Kentucky
· The first LEED Platinum project in Louisville
· The first LEED-certified adaptive re-use project in Kentucky
Completed 2009
Client/Owner: Gill Holland, The Group Entertainment LLC
Credits
Architecture and Interior Design:
Douglas Pierson (as partner with (fer) studio)
Darren Chen, Project Associate
Matthew McGrane, Project Associate
Clemente Macias, Project Associate
Structural Engineer: BTM
Sustainable MEP Systems: Solar Engineering
Construction Manager: Peters Construction
Landscaping: Tracie Williams
Photography: Ted Wathen, Quadrant Studios
AWARDS
Cornerstone Award
Awarded by Louisville Downtown Management District in 2008
For significant contribution to the revitalization of downtown Louisville
Kentucky Small Business Air Quality Stewardship Award 2008
LEED Platinum Certification
Awarded by USGBC in 2009
First LEED Platinum project in Louisville
First LEED certified adaptive re-use project in Kentucky
Excellence in Design Award Finalist
Awarded by Environmental Design and Construction in 2009
Best New Green Project in the Midwest
Awarded by Real Estate and Construction Review 2010
Environmental Pacesetter Award
Awarded by Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection in 2011
Project Description
Recycling an existing building is the ultimate green gesture: In Louisville’s distressed East Market community, we rescued a 110-year-old former dry goods store from decades of misuse. We resuscitated its drafty, century-old structural masonry shell, completely sealing it with inert recycled insulating materials. The original window openings, previously filled in with cinderblocks, are restored with low-e insulated glass. Exterior louvers on the south side prevent heat build-up from sunlight. And throughout the building, we specified eco-friendly materials.
The building's original mortar joint façade remains intact. However, we replaced the 1980s storefront with an angled, recessed, wood and aluminum façade that recedes visually and draws visitors in towards the entryway.
Reduce, Reuse: To support the local economy and earn points towards LEED certification in the process, we relied upon local vendors and suppliers and used locally available and/or recycled materials for construction whenever possible. For example, we reused existing old-growth wood, blasted with corn husks and planed down, for flooring and furniture. Then we gave any left-over construction materials to local businesses for them to reuse.
Creating Energy, Avoiding CO2: Photovoltaic (solar) arrays and a dozen geothermal heating and cooling wells increase the building’s overall energy efficiency by creating energy. A canopy of 81 solar panels provides almost 15 Kilowatt/hours. Three DC-AC inverters count the amount of CO2 saved from entering the atmosphere as a result of the panels.
Taking the less sunny fall months as an average, THE GREEN BUILDING saves 30,000 pounds of CO2 a month, more than enough to offset the carbon footprint of all the building’s employees. When CO2 levels in any room hit more than 550 adjustable parts per million, vents open to bring in fresh air.
Heating and Cooling: Concealed in the basement, a cylindrical 1100-gallon ice storage system freezes during off-peak hours and, in warm months, distributes cool air throughout the day for about one fourth of the cost of a traditional system. By the end of the day, the ice has melted and the cycle starts anew the following day.
During the winter months, the cycle works in reverse to provide supplemental heating, adding to the geothermal heating and cooling system. Energy recovery units are located at the highest and lowest points of the building to capture hot and cold air and redistribute it throughout the building as needed.
We also made certain that the HVAC system does not use chlorofluorocarbon-based refrigerants and that the fire-suppression system is clear of halon gases.
Ultimate, THE GREEN BUILDING was successfully designed to outperform Kentucky energy codes by up to 65 percent and to meet or exceed the standard American Society for Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers’ Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality.
Water management: Beside an exterior wall, three massive rain barrels capture any overflow from the building’s green, or vegetated, roof. These pour into an underground culvert that takes any excess run-off into a rain garden near the back of the building. Excess run-off is used to irrigate the green roof and a vertical garden near the rear of the site, which is used to grow herbs and vegetables. No city water is used on the site for irrigation or landscaping.
To ensure that the building functions as designed, special control systems meter the HVAC system, water usage, and energy performance. (GE workers are currently using THE GREEN BUILDING as a source of inspiration as they “green” their own projects.)
Arts Center: To make THE GREEN BUILDING fulfill its purpose as an arts and community center, we added a modern core that includes a 40-foot-high lobby. Even though the space is long and narrow, natural light and outdoor views flood the interior through an ascending glass spine that bridges all three floors and breaks the roof into three planes. The spine cascades down the backside of the space, providing views of the green roof below.
The main gallery below the green roof houses a digital movie screening room and the monthly rotating Green Building Gallery. The semi-enclosed outdoor courtyard in the rear of the building provides a warm-weather event space shaded by trees and the many solar panels above it.
A café – the beneficiary of the vertical garden -- fronts the East Market Street side of the building and a separate entry draws visitors back along the interior “street” to the triple-height lobby space at the building’s core.
Inspiration: As a beacon for the arts as well as sustainable design and construction, the primary goal of THE GREEN BUILDING project was to help revitalize the emerging East Market community. With this building as the hub, other development plans for East Market now include a public, two-acre downtown marketplace that will offer produce and other food products from local growers and vendors.
Widely acknowledged as the coolest building in town, THE GREEN BUILDING has hosted some of nation's most exciting and influential organizations, individuals, and events since its opening in the fall of 2008. The first commercial building in Louisville to receive LEED Platinum certification, THE GREEN BUILDING is the destination for cultural, political and community gatherings, breathing life back into the city¹s long distressed and forgotten East Market district, a federally classified distressed area.