U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Louisville VA Medical Center

Project Details

Project Description

SmithGroup and AECOM celebrate the groundbreaking of the new VA Medical Center on Veterans Day 2021. The firms join the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Louisville District, to commemorate this milestone. With an area of over 972,000 square feet, the new $840 million medical center will replace the existing Robley Rex VA Medical Center.

The Louisville VA Medical Center will serve a population of more than 150,000 in Kentucky and southern Indiana, emphasizing a comprehensive approach to health by incorporating inpatient and outpatient services for expanded access to primary care, specialty, surgical, and mental health services. The 34-acre campus includes two parking structures, a central utility plant, and other site amenities. The Louisville VA Medical Center is anticipated to be completed in 2026.

The architecture of the new medical center integrates a focus on sustainability, relationships to nature, and symbolism intrinsic to military life. The facades of the medical center feature vertical patterning of metal panels and curtainwall, inspired by the colorful regalia of military ribbons, while horizontal striations reference the similar natural layering of limestone found in the surrounding Kentucky hills. The concourse and gardens are divided into four areas representing the milestones of a veteran’s service: join, bond, honor, and thank. The pair of parking structures are screened in copper-colored bowed and wire mesh panels, which frame a perforated screen emblazoned with a patriotic theme.

The Louisville VA Medical Center is designed to comply with the Government’s Guiding Principles for Sustainable Federal Buildings. It will include a large photovoltaic array that generates a portion of the center’s electrical energy, green roofs, water use reduction, and optimized energy performance. The biophilic design intertwines architecture and landscape, emphasizing the importance of nature in health and wellness. Key elements include terraces, ample green spaces, a contemplative courtyard, and a linear garden that sweeps the length of the center, connecting to a light-filled indoor concourse that joins a range of spaces with uses such as education, ceremony, dining, and respite.

With SmithGroup serving as primary design architect and AECOM serving as primary engineer, the joint venture firms collaborated closely to provide project management, architecture, interior architecture, medical planning, landscape architecture, and civil, structural, and MEP engineering during the design phases and will continue to provide services throughout the construction period.

URS/SmithGroup Joint Venture was formed in 2007 to provide integrated design services for the Louisville VA Medical Center project. AECOM acquired URS Corporation in 2014.