The Green Building
The award-winning project The Green Building in Louisville, KY opened in the Fall of 2008 in the East Market District, the heart of NuLu, Louisville's arts district.
Renovation of the 110 year old masonry structure, a former dry goods store, was commenced by owners Augusta and Gill Holland in spring 2007 when they decided to become the first commercial building in Louisville KY to go for LEED platinum certification (the US Green Building Council's designation of a sustainable building). Intent upon rescuing the building from decades of misuse, the project included resuscitating the structural masonry shell and infusing it with a modern core, including a 40 foot high lobby, expansive natural lighting, eco-friendly materials, and renewable energy systems, as well as extensive solar power, geothermal wells, and recycled denim insulation. The Green Building Gallery, event spaces, and an indoor-outdoor courtyard at the rear complete with a green wall vertical garden. The second and third floors house office studios for SonaBLAST! Records, Holland Brown Books and The Group Entertainment.
Click here to listen to an interview with The Green Building's architect, Doug Pierson of (fer) studio. 
View Completed Project Photos (Album 1) 
View Construction Photos (Album 2)
View Construction Photos (Album 3)
New Artsy Bike Rack to Be Dedicated Tomorrow at the Green Building
Bourbon Barrel Sign Post Bike Rack Sculpture. (Courtesy Jacob Heustis)
Bourbon Barrel Sign Post Bike Rack Sculpture. (Courtesy Jacob Heustis)
Ride on down to the Green Building at 732 East Market Street tomorrow night for the First Friday Trolley Hop where Nulu legend Gill Holland and artist Jacob Heustis will be unveiling Louisville’s lastest bike rack sculpture. Holland came up with the idea for the bourbon-themed totem called “As the Old Crow Flies” which points to each of the six distilleries on the Bourbon Trail: Four Roses, Heaven Hill, Jim Beam, Marker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, and Woodford Reserve. Heustis designed and built the piece from reclaimed wood and steel sourced from each of the distilleries depicted. From the press release:
The final design replicates a tall country sign-post, with wooden arrows pointing in the actual direction of the distilleries. Heustis sourced barrels from the respective distilleries to use in the sculpture. He burned the emblems of the distilleries into the barrels himself, as most barrels do not come with emblems on them.
Hopefully this new piece of Nulu will be just as much bike rack as it is sculpture.
Environmental Excellence Awards Presented by Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection
Winners displayed environmental leadership
Frankfort, Ky. (Sept. 30, 2011) – The Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection honored the six recipients of its 2011 Environmental Excellence Awards during an awards luncheon at the Governor’s Conference on Energy and the Environment at the Lexington Convention Center. The awards were presented by Kentucky First Lady Jane Beshear.
Through this awards program, the department recognized the efforts and activities of individuals, businesses and organizations that are committed to protecting and improving Kentucky’s environment.
Environmental Pacesetter Award for a Small Business: The Green Building, Louisville
The Green Building achieved platinum LEED certification, becoming Louisville's first commercial building to hold the honor and is Kentucky’s first Platinum Adaptive Reuse Project. Rehabilitation of the 115-year-old former dry goods store included resuscitating the structural masonry shell and infusing it with a modern core, including a 40-foot-high lobby, expansive natural lighting, ecofriendly materials and renewable energy systems, as well as extensive solar power, geothermal wells and recycled denim insulation. The Green Building is a prime example of the potential to be sustainable that exists in older structures.
LEED Platinum retrofit serves as example for Green Energy Focus
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The accelerating trend of green retrofits can turn blighted, crumbling downtown buildings into functional, energy-efficient spaces that help revitalize neighborhoods, according to a Los Angeles-based architect who specializes in "adaptive reuse."
Doug Pearson, partner and design principal at Form Environment Research, presented his adaptive reuse of a 120-year-old Louisville retail and warehouse structure at the Green Building Focus Retrofit Seminar at the Jackson Center in Cummings Research Park.
Local building wins environmental award
By Erin Austin | WDRB
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- It's called the Green Building. The Louisville structure was recognized for the environmentally-friendly design Friday that won it the first award of its kind in the state.
State representative Steve Riggs presented the building's owners, Gill and Augusta Holland, with an award of merit from Kentucky.
It comes after the Green Building earlier this year became the first commercial building in Kentucky to be awarded platinum level LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification.
"A lot of people worked on the design. A lot of people worked on the interior demolition. You know, we didn't want to send anything to landfills. A lot of people then worked on sourcing materials, renewable materials, recycled materials, recycling materials from the building. And then we finally built the building and then we had to market and promote the building," says Green Building owner Gill Holland.
Holland says he's also proud of the impact the building has had on the design of other buildings in Louisville.
And the winners are...
The Green Building, in conjunction with Brightside, presented the first annual Acorn Awards at the Green Tie Bash.
Marketing Director and Events Coordinator Stephanie Brothers was on hand to present the awards with Congressman John Yarmuth and Mayor Jerry Abramson.
The Acorn Awards recognize green leaders in our community. Congratulations to all our nominees... keep up the good work!
The Acorn Award for Individual Leadership: Jackie Green
The Acorn Award for Non-Profit Leadership: Trinity High School
The Acorn Award for Small Business Leadership: Rainbow Blossom
The Acorn Award for Large Business Leadership: Brown-Forman
(Photo: Congressman John Yarmuth and Gill Holland present Summer Auerbach of Rainbow Blossom with a commemorative Acorn Awards plate designed by Louisville Stoneware)
Current Exhibition at The Green Building Gallery
In honor of its LEED Platinum certification earlier this year by the U.S.Green Building Council (USGBC), The Green Building will host an exhibition revisiting and celebrating their journey to platinum.
FORM, ENVIRONMENT, RESEARCH
Arranged as a panorama and presented by the award winning architecture firm, form environment research (fer) studio, this exhibit chronicles the collaborative process of sustainable design and plots the evolution of several ecological projects, including The Green Building, from concept to reality. The exhibition will continue to be on display for the IdeaFestival September 21-24th, and will be available for viewing through October 21st, 2011.
The Green Building would like to acknowledge sponsors, form environment research (fer) studio, Peters Construction, Union Square Construction, KLT Print Services, Urban Design Studio, and others for their generous support in the planning and production of this event.
The Green Building is the first LEED Platinum project in the city of Louisville and the first LEED certified adaptive re-use project in the state of Kentucky. LEED Platinum represents the highest tier of the four-level LEED certification system. To see The Green Building LEED Project Profile, check out www.usgbckentucky.org.
The Green Wall @ The Green Building
Louisville Counts!
Holland Brown Books presents The Laramie L. Leatherman Art Learning Center (Art Sparks Interactive Gallery) with a check for $12,500.00, the amount raised in just 24 days of Louisville Counts! A Childrens Counting & Art Book sales! Get your copy before they're gone: Holland Brown Books. All proceeds from all sales of the book go directly to Art Sparks!
The Green Building :: Reclaiming Wood
