Louisville Library Dixie Highway

Louisville’s new Southewest Regional Library is a beautiful example of how the building envelope can be symbolic as well as functional, environmentally responsible and attractive.  This new 40,000-square-foot, $10.2 million library boasts more than 120,000 books and materials, yet marries the printed medium with new technology as it also has 100 public computers and the largest children’s library in the system.  This library is the first of three new buildings planned by the Louisville Free Public Library system (LFPL) by Minneapolis-based Myer Scherer & Rockcastle (MSR).  The building envelope was inspired by the act of discovery, with symbolic metal curtains that are peeled away to reveal greater knowledge within.  One way of accomplishing this concept was giving the main entrance two pairs of 9-foot-tall, wide stile Tubelite doors, which Koch installed.  One pair swings in, and one pair swings out.  The use of curtainwall also provides for daylight and beautiful transparency at night, inviting children as well as adults to be drawn in to explore and discover new things through the free access to information and media.

The four-sided structurally glazed curtainwall allowed the project to avoid the use of exterior metal mullion covers, create an extremely clean envelope appearance, and give the facade the appearance of a village of buildings, set side by side.  In order to support the goal of energy-efficiency, both the curtainwall and window wall incorporate low-e insulating glass, thus reducing solar heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter.  Koch’s team of glaziers conducted field measurements prior to Tubelite manufacturing the metallic panels, to ensure precise installation.  The aluminum used to produce the Tubelite systems was extruded using a trademarked, recycled-content aluminum.  Lintec then applied a finish to the cladding to enhance the project’s environmental attributes, longevity and metallic appearance by using a clear anodize on the interior and bronze anodize on the exterior.  The coating also  provides excellent wear and abrasion resistance with minimal maintenance.

This building has been certified LEED Gold, and was awarded the overall winner in the 2014 Metal Construction News Building and Roofing Awards.