This week officials celebrated Louisville’s latest green roof—and Kentucky’s largest at almost 27,000 square feet—atop the Mazzoli Federal Building in Downtown. The $1.3 million project (which also funded a courthouse renovation in South Carolina) was funded by federal recovery funds (ARRA) and involved bumping up the sustainability of the entire building.
The Romano Mazzoli Federal Building on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Place (at Chestnut Street) between Seventh and Eighth streets underwent a renovation involving upgrades to its air conditioning, occupancy sensors for interior lights, stormwater retention, and the green roof.
It’s worth noting again the many benefits of green roofing including storing and slowing rainwater runoff, diminishing the heat island effect in summer and holding heat in the winter, saving energy from reduced HVAC operation, increased wildlife habitat, and general aesthetic beauty.
The Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) also paid $250,000 to better equip the building’s parking lot (over twice the size of the roof) to handle rainwater runoff. Improvements, including permeable pavers, are expected to divert up to 90 percent of runoff from the sewers to help avoid combined sewer overflow (CSO) which pollutes our local waterways.
The limestone and concrete federal building was designed by Godsey Associates Architects with Thomas J. Nolan & Sons and Louis & Henry Group.
Sorry to be the fly in the ointment, but the green roof sections are only those on the lower levels of the building. The top is still light colored gravel.
Thanks, Cliff. I was a little skeptical that the green roof was installed up top but I couldn’t figure out how that lower roof covers 27,000 square feet. I guess it’s bigger than it looks? I’ll update the graphic today.