Luckett & Farley provided design services for Louisville Metro’s first green vegetative roof on the Metro Development 444 South Fifth Street building. This project replaces the existing built up roof on the early 20th-century building with an extensive, low-maintenance green roof utilizing 160 tons of gravel, planting medium, trees, and over 10,000 indigenous plantings on the six-story, 12,000 SF roof. The green roof increases insulation value and decreases storm water runoff while reducing the heat temperature of the roof, mitigating contribution to heat island effect in the city.
Many of the drought-resistant plants will feature an array of red and green hues, so the roof will be a colorful sight to see. Irrigation hoses have been installed for dry weather, but the plants will get most of their water naturally. Approximately 70 to 75% of rainwater that falls on the roof will be held and absorbed by the plants, reducing the strain on the sewer system during storms.
Luckett & Farley also provided design services to design-builder Earthwell Energy Management for a solar thermal system. The solar system is designed to provide hot water, storage, and circulation to the five-story building’s toilet rooms and showers. Luckett & Farley designed the hot water circulation system and structural modifications to support the solar thermal array in the existing penthouse roof.