By Vinny Porco
The construction of the University of Louisville’s upcoming Health Sciences Simulation Center and Collaboration Hub at the corner of E. Chestnut Street and S. Preston Street will feature several innovative sustainability efforts.
These features were presented by architects and other professionals from the design company Perkins&Will during the Wednesday, Sept. 24 virtual meeting of the U of L Sustainability Council. The Louisville Cardinal was in attendance at the meeting.
Perkins&Will Associate Douglas Pierce began by showcasing the building’s “solar screen” window fixtures. He explained that the screens would be installed for several purposes. The first purpose is to mitigate glare coming in through windows.
Another purpose is to reduce solar heat gain.
“That screen will reduce solar heat gain that happens inside the building. And that reduces the overall energy demand and the operational carbon footprint of the building,” said Pierce.
An added bonus to the addition of solar screens is making the building’s windows safe for birds, something the Sustainability Council particularly enjoyed.
Energy demand related to heating and cooling was a prevalent talking point in Perkins&Will’s presentation. In fact, the bulk of most buildings’ energy demand comes from heating and cooling.
In the pursuit of solving this sustainability problem and several others, the building design employs a creative use of rainwater.
An intricate rainwater harvesting system serves multiple purposes. Collecting water from the roof, it will then be filtered and used to flush toilets and water the immense foliage of the green space surrounding the building.
Pierce described the greenspace as an “urban microforest” with a “native and adapted pollinator-rich habitat.”
“Essentially the plant material sweating and releasing water back into the air offers cooling effects to the site, which can then have an impact on the building temperature,” Pierce said.
The rainwater harvesting system is estimated to save two million gallons of water per year.
Beyond that, the building will also include two other notable energy-efficient systems.
When asked to comment, Assistant to the Provost for Sustainability Initiatives Justin Mog, Ph. D. lamented at the prospect of the building not having solar panels installed from the beginning and instead simply being deemed “solar ready.”
“The only thing I’ve noticed about the latest iteration of the plans which I would call a shortcoming is that the design team seems to have switched from talking about actually installing a [solar panel system] on this building to making it ‘solar ready,’” he said.
Mog, however, is excited about the implementation of geothermal wells to provide baseload heating and cooling of the building.
“This new building at HSC will take our commitment to renewable energy up a notch with next generation, high-performance geothermal wells that use aquifer heat exchange to replace fossil fueled heating and cooling,” said Mog.
Overall, Mog is very optimistic about the project. He noted that it was the first building project to involve him from start to finish since he began working at U of L in 2009 .
“I am confident that this, the most expensive building U of L has ever constructed, will also be the most environmentally responsible one we’ve ever built,” said Mog.
The Health Sciences Simulation Center and Collaboration Hub was first announced to the public in February 2024.
The construction of the building’s foundation is set to begin in early 2026. The tentative completion date for the building will be in early 2029 according to U of L Construction Project Manager Brandy Barry.
Photo Courtesy / Perkins&Will
Source: New Health Sciences building set to include sustainability features (The Louisville Cardinal, Sept. 28, 2025)
