Here’s a photo-update of the under-construction Liberty Green Community Center on the corner of Jefferson and Jackson Streets. The building is Louisville Metro Housing Authority’s first LEED registered building.
The first three photos are just under a month old, so there’s likely more brick showing today, but I wanted to get these online before it was hopelessly too late. Three more photos after the click show progress in mid-December.
Founder and Editor at Broken Sidewalk
Branden founded Broken Sidewalk in 2008 while practicing architecture in Louisville. He continued the site for seven years while living in New York City, returning to Louisville in 2016. Branden is a graduate of the College of Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis, and has covered architecture, design, and urbanism for The Architect's Newspaper, Designers & Books, Inhabitat, and the American Institute of Architects.
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To describe the architecture of this building as “Romanesque” is very kind. Its architecture more closely resembles 1930s German architecture during the Nazi period. This is just another example of neo-traditional architecture promoted by this city government’s planning people that has part of our downtown looking like it was stuck back in the distant past. Hasn’t anyone noticed that we are in the 21st century?
@stanley collyer – Right, because a generic glass and metal box would be an improvement. The thing about Louisville, Mr. Collyer, is that it is a city whose culture is based in tradition; tradition that has kept us from becoming Anywhere, USA. I see nothing wrong with architecture reflecting that.
i missed the part where mr collyer asked for a generic glass and metal box. also the part that indicates how this is more specific to traditions in louisville than to those in, say, boston, atlanta, or celebration, fla.
this is a handsome building that will take its place in the city fabric. i’d argue that it’s not different from what might be built in “anywhere usa” because it references shared traditions of american architecture, but then it also isn’t attempting to be unique to louisville.
one thing that *can* help a city build its specific and unique culture is when its architects are familiar with its local history, but also cognizant that part of their design job is to help the city’s fabric evolve in a way that is appropriate to the very particular time and circumstances in which they’re designing.
@archintent – I cannot disagree with you. You must forgive me if my opinion seems crude, for it is an uneducated one that comes from simple observations I have made while driving around town. You are correct in saying that Mr. Collyer did not specifically ask for a glass and metal box. However, if the good people at liberty Green did opt for a modern design, I believe that would have been the result. Let the record show that I have nothing against GOOD modern architecture; there are numerous (too many to list here) modern skyscrapers that I consider to be beautiful and elegant designs. But to my eyes it seems that such quality flies out the window when it comes to small scale projects, and is replaced by the generic and largely ugly designs that can be found throughout suburbia. My apologies to Mr. Collyer if my comment was rude; I guess I just get mad when a tasteful example of neo-traditional architecture is unnecessarily criticized.