by Russell Boniface
Associate Editor

How do you . . . celebrate the AIA’s 150 anniversary in style, honor a prestigious architect, and welcome him “back home?”

Summary: The AIA Central Kentucky Chapter (AIA-CKC) honored 1999 Gold Medal recipient Michael Graves, FAIA, on May 23 at an AIA150 event in Louisville that also celebrated the 25th anniversary of his landmark Humana Building, located on downtown Louisville’s Main Street. Humana ranks 98 on the AIA150 list of America’s Favorite Architecture, generated in April by an AIA-sponsored survey of the public.

Event welcomes Graves back to Louisville
Graves, 72, was invited by the AIA-CKC to discuss the Humana Building and his career. “A Conversation with Michael Graves” was held with 600 attendees on May 23 at the Louisville Actors’ Theater, where Graves was selected as the building’s architect in 1982—almost 25 years to the day. Graves discussed how he wanted the Humana Building to fit within the context of downtown Louisville. He spoke of taking cues from the Ohio River, its bridges, and the 19th-century streetscape of Louisville’s Main Street. He recalled how his inspiration for the curved balcony came from a Victorian engraving of a family admiring the Ohio River from an old water tower. Graves said he had only 10 or 15 people working in his office at the time. “The greatest thing was we didn't have so much else to do,” he said. “We could just put our heads down and do it.”

Tony Kleyer, AIA, president of AIA-CKC, remarked at the event that “the chapter wanted to have a significant public dialogue on how architecture can transform a city,” and that the 25th anniversary of Humana provided that opportunity. AIA President RK Stewart, FAIA, spoke to chapter members at a luncheon town-hall meeting the day of Graves’ talk. Stewart also met with Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson to discuss AIA’s sustainability efforts and introduced Graves that evening.

The architect, the building
The ornate, pink granite, 27-story Humana Building is the corporate office for the health-care firm Humana Inc. Graves won the design competition in May 1982 to design the edifice, which opened in 1985 and was awarded an AIA National Honor Award in 1987. Graves filled the Humana Building with Classical variations and human-centered architecture. Each side of the building forms a sloping pyramid at its upper floors, creating a shape that has earned the building the nickname of “The Milk Carton.” A metal truss supports a projected, curved 24th-floor balcony and symbolizes the nearby Ohio River bridges, replete with panoramic views. A 50-foot entrance waterfall of six cascades echoes the fall of the Ohio River and is enclosed in an eight-story base colonnade of red columns. A glass pyramid-shaped skylight sits atop the colonnade.

Steve Wiser, AIA, director of health-care design with JRA Architects in Louisville, praises Graves: “As most are aware, Mr. Graves suffered a severe illness in 2003 that left him partially paralyzed. This, though, did not hinder his enthusiasm for what his Humana design meant for his career or the citizens of Louisville.

“Before Humana, Graves was noted for residential work and had just completed a tight-budgeted Portland Building,” Wiser explained. “After Humana, Graves became widely recognized. His career has expanded beyond architecture with a broad product line of merchandise as well as new designs for health-care equipment.”

Wiser adds that the Humana Building is a remarkable achievement that sparked an urban renaissance. “It far exceeded the expectations of the Humana Company and the Louisville community.”