The M. Krista Loyd Sky Garden is expected to trim 25 percent from heating and cooling costs in the two-story addition it covers. It also drains to a rain garden on the ground below to help prevent campus flooding.
“In recent years, student and faculty accomplishments have transformed our College of Business from a school of convenience into a college of choice,” said UofL President James Ramsey. “We’re proud that our business school — which leads the region in academic excellence and continues to place well in national rankings — also is ahead of the pack when it comes to environmentally friendly construction.”
The roof, named for the late daughter of Raymond and Eleanor Loyd of Louisville who donated $55,000 for the project, sits atop a new 7,000-square-foot wing on the college’s west side. The wing provides much-needed space for the school’s Equine Industry Program and Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship, Dean Charlie Moyer said at a June 5 dedication ceremony.
Besides the roof, other green features of the new wing include:
- 97 percent of all occupied spaces have natural day lighting; 94 percent have a direct line of sight to the outside.
- Radiant heat panels along the window wall keep the rooms evenly heated.
- Low-E glass reduces heat buildup in the summer and reflects heat back in the winter.
- Low VOC-emitting paint, sealant, adhesives and flooring reduce indoor air contaminants.
The equine program will occupy the first floor of the $3.4 million addition, while the second floor will house the entrepreneurship program. Each 3,500-square-foot floor includes faculty office space, a student computer/practice lab and a conference room.
“Not only will this wing provide more office space for our faculty, but it will allow us to create a new student classroom on the atrium level of our main building,” Moyer said.
The college offers undergraduate programs in business, accounting and economics, a Master of Accountancy degree and several types of Master of Business Administration degrees. It also offers a unique PhD program in entrepreneurship.