Sixteen projects waltzed away with design awards at the AIA Tennessee’s 2005 annual meeting and convention in Nashville. The international jury, chaired by Brian Ambroziak, and including Salvatore Canciello, AIA, Sasaki Associates, Boston; Jon Coddington, AIA, Ball State University, Muncie, Ind.; and Sigismund Sliwinski, Sliwinski Lenschow Architekten, Berlin, Germany, deliberated over 80 submittals, recognizing the following projects for their outstanding design.

Awards of Excellence

Woodson Gilchrist Residence, by Woodson Gilchrist Architects
This design combines established neighborhood patterns with contemporary features that reflect the architect-owners’ lifestyle and history. They call it a “bungaloft”—a loft with a great front porch. “The massing references the neighboring foursquare house and becomes an interpretation of it, not a stripped-down copy,” the jury noted. “The nicely disciplined plan of well-orchestrated layers of public-to-private spaces results in a beautiful mixture of openness and privacy.” Photo © Michael Lewis.

Middle Tennessee State University Sports Hall of Fame, Murfreesboro, Tenn., by Tuck Hinton Architects, Nashville
This multipurpose building houses the school’s Sports Hall of Fame and exhibits to showcase athletic history and programs of a growing state university. A generous alumnus provided funding for the new facility. The jury said they found it easy to imagine the spaces of the MTSU Sports Hall of Fame filled with alumni and sports enthusiasts. “Within the simplicity of the overall composition there is a complexity and vibrancy in the execution of the interior spaces,” they noted. “The layers provide additional richness and subtlety. The architect tastefully addresses the design of the hall of fame without too much emphasis on school colors or logos, as is typically seen.” Photo © Michael Lewis.

Akhriev–Hefferlin Williams Street Studio, Chattanooga, by Hefferlin + Kronenberg Architects PLLC
The Akhriev-Hefferlin Studio is a mixed-use project combining an art gallery, painting studio, and residence on a mid-block property in Chattanooga’s reemerging Southside District. The architects organized it around a central courtyard; built it with combinations of steel frame, heavy timber, and conventional framing; and clad it with zinc and stone. The interior colors reflect the artist’s palette. “Working with an informed client to develop a sophisticated live/work program, the architect contrasts the spatial qualities of the narrow site with a design that explodes with light, resulting in a surprisingly open and welcoming solution,” the jury remarked. “The project seems to fit effortlessly in a tight urban space, with emphasis on the courtyard that works beautifully with the phased program.” Photo © Tim Street Porter.

Restoration of the Historic Tennessee Theatre, Knoxville, by McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects Inc., in association with van Dijk Westlake Reed Leskosky
The architects restored, renovated, and expanded the Historic Tennessee Theatre, long a landmark in downtown Knoxville, to serve as a performing-arts venue upgraded to meet current life-safety and accessibility codes. The architects expanded the stagehouse in depth and height to allow Broadway-style shows and supplied an array of new support spaces. “The design of the Historic Tennessee Theatre is a magnificent restoration that brings back the vibrancy and dignity of the original building,” said the jury. “The theatre promises to be a great contribution to the life of downtown and the city’s main street.” Photo © Nels Akerlund Photography.

Red Deluxe, Memphis, by archimania
The architects strove to design a 4,000-square-foot new office space for a progressive advertising agency, a design that is “tough, refined, subtle, and yet not so subtle.” The result is an interactive and engaging space that focuses on five diverse zones: conference room facing the street, “concept room,” private offices, semiprivate workstations, and the “engine room.” The honesty of the design coupled with creative value engineering enable this space to become what it is: Red Deluxe. “The project offers clear spatial relationships complemented by a rich material palette and integrated lighting,” the jury said. “The interior deals with space and form, not just surface and color.” Photo © Jeffrey Jacobs.

Hunter Museum of American Art, Chattanooga, Tenn., by Randall Stout Architecture Inc. and Derthick, Henley & Wilkerson Architects
Drawing from the site’s natural setting, this museum embodies a contemporary interpretation of rock outcroppings and strata within the cliff below, while undulating roof forms reflect dynamic movements of the neighboring river. Contributing to this composition is a materials palette consisting of glass, oxidized zinc, and stainless steel. Within the museum, the design solves longstanding staff and art circulation problems by creating state-of-the-art receiving, storage, and work areas. The design consolidates the permanent collection onto a single floor, with convenient access to new public areas, including the lobby, auditorium, education studios, café, museum shop, and the 1905 mansion. “The Hunter Museum of American Art is a logical progression of the architecture of the existing structures, adding to the city’s repertoire of spatial typologies,” the jury said. “The floating roof planes accentuate the natural rock outcropping, grounding the building and organizing the public spaces with exploding views down the river.” Photo © Tim Griffith.

Shelby Street Bridge Lighting, Nashville, by Frederic Schwartz Architects, and Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon Inc., with Domingo Gonzalez Associates, lighting consultant
The preservation of the historic Shelby Street Bridge, one of the longest pedestrian bridges in the world, provides an important revitalized recreational transit corridor and a popular destination. Its dramatic new lighting enhances the structure of the bridge and has created an instant icon for the city and a beloved place for an evening stroll and weekend events. The implementation of this design literally brings to light the positive results of place-making in the city and the celebration of historic urban infrastructure. “The bridge reinvigorates the river experience, emphasizing the pedestrian nature of the city and its interest in creating neighborhood linkages,” the jury enthused. “The stunning lighting design highlights the structural elements and many connections that make up the old riveted style bridge, celebrating its unique historic character.” Photo © Dave Anderson.

Merit Awards

Germantown Court, Nashville, by Dryden Abernathy I Architecture Design
This project’s common green space is central to the lifestyle of each resident of the eight cottages. It encourages public interaction in an unusually tight configuration. Residents organize gatherings and sports activities and enjoy spontaneous happenings, supporting communal habitation. The jury believed that as an urban design exercise, the Germantown Court successfully creates a prototypical solution for community living while still retaining the positive aspects of detached housing. “The project promises to be a capable addition to the problem of neighborhood infill housing that offers individual ownership of discreet houses while achieving density,” they remarked. Photo © Dean Dixon.

Ensworth High School, Nashville, by Hastings Architecture Associates and GUND PARTNERSHIP INC.
A contemporary expression, grounded in the traditional roots of collegiate architecture, gives Ensworth a striking sense of permanence and community. The architects carefully preserved the 127-acre historic site, with significant natural features and historic structures, including 10,000-year-old artifacts found on the site. This new independent high school, designed to accommodate 450 9th-12th-grade students, offers academics, arts, and athletics organized around an open-sided, quadrangle courtyard. “The Ensworth High School is a nice collage of forms that create convincing spaces,” said the jury. “The scale of the building and the constraints of the vocabulary, as well as how the large-volume buildings of the sports facilities nestled into the topography, were executed with restraint and clarity.” Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto Photographics.

Point: Counterpoint–a Conversation with Haviland, Philadelphia, by Tricia Stuth and Ted Shelton
Point: Counterpoint is an architectural installation at Eastern State Penitentiary National Historic Landmark in Philadelphia. Through a series of screens, scrims, and thresholds, the architects say, the underlying logic of the building’s plan is called into question, and issues of surveillance and privacy are raised. Large mirrors hidden within the framework of the project interrupt and bend axial views, capturing the vision of the “guard” while that of the “prisoners” is linked and extended. “The project demonstrates a clear critique of the original sight-line concept of the prison and reverses it,” said the jury. They selected the project for merit because it demonstrates the application of a fundamental architectural language. Photo © C Frank Iaquinta /Halkin Photography.

Restoration and Additions to Sacred Heart Cathedral, Rochester, N.Y., by Williamson Ponders Architects PC
The jury felt that this project’s attention to light, craft, and detail in the project was remarkable. It brings the 75-year-old Gothic Revival cathedral into full conformance with contemporary Roman Catholic liturgical standards and provides major new spaces for social gatherings, meetings, and administration. “The design of the Sacred Heart Cathedral is an elegant renovation with a sensitive narthex addition that enhances and improves the composition of the overall design,” the jury said. “The language of the addition honors and celebrates the existing structure.” Photo © Tim Wilkes Photography

University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture Biotechnology Research Center, Knoxville, by Bullock, Smith & Partners Inc., and Barber Curry Architects
The $22.5-million Biotechnology Research Center, completed in 2003 on the Knoxville Campus of the University of Tennessee, constitutes 143,000 square feet. A requirement for internal modular labs flanking mechanical chases set the order of the building, with additional labs and other spaces designed in a deliberately picturesque composition. “We recognize that the architects were asked to design a complicated and expensive building type on a relatively restrained budget,” the jury noted. “Their response was competently executed with maximum value.” Photo © Eric Oxendorf.

Camp Fish Lips, Norris Lake, Tenn., by Johnson Architecture Inc.
The architects conceived the new retreat home for a family of four in the concept of a summer “fishing camp.” Located on a rock bluff overlooking Tennessee’s Norris Lake, the complex consists of a “main house” connected to separate “bunk houses” with a covered deck. Jury members said they were especially drawn to the design for Camp Fish Lips because of what they described as its “beautiful and consistent use of materials and craft” and its nostalgic reference to the vernacular fishing retreat. "The architect has demonstrated a wonderfully sensitive approach to the scale of the elements, their material, texture, and lighting that will enhance the experience of the visitor’s stay,” they opined. Photo © Peter Montanti, Mountain Photographics Inc.

Scott Avenue Townhomes, East Nashville, Tenn., by Everton Oglesby Architects
Scott Avenue Townhomes, a small-scale mixed-use development nestled in the heart of East Nashville, consists of 10 two-story, single-family units and a 1,800-square-foot corner commercial building. An L-shaped site plan not only creates a consistent street edge with the development’s existing neighbors but also adds privacy and secure parking for the residents. The design for the Scott Avenue Townhomes is an excellent response to its surroundings, the jury said, giving an observer a good sense of context and precedent without copying. “The overall composition offers a good variety of types, including a commercial building at the corner, that together create a nice sense of community,” they said. Photo © Tom Gatlin Photography.

Knoxville Convention Center, by McCarty Holsaple McCarty Architects Inc., and Thompson Ventulett & Stainback & Assoc.
Siting of the new center city convention center for Knoxville overlooking the redesigned World’s Fair Park takes advantage of the existing area’s rich landscape and topographic form and establishes a new gateway into the park. Unlike most large-footprint convention centers, which require access on at least one side, the Knoxville Convention Center has four separate positive facades, each addressing a different view to its surroundings. The jury felt that this project should be considered for an award because of its innovative organization, scale, proportion, and integration with site topography and visual axes. “It demonstrates a strong, inventive solution that allows conventioneers to be exposed to the city and its major park,” they said. Photo © Robert Batey.

Civil Rights Collection, Nashville Public Library, by Tuck Hinton Architects
The architects altered a corner space in a large city library to become the location of materials on the Civil Rights Movement. A table symbolic of downtown lunch counters, the primary target of civil rights protests, serves as the centerpiece of the space. A comprehensive timeline on this radial, egalitarian element contrasts local and national events. Ten “rules of nonviolent conduct” carried by the young demonstrators are engraved on the glass surface, and visitors are invited to read the timeline and recite the compelling guidelines. Words etched on an adjacent new translucent wall were spoken after Martin Luther King witnessed the impact of the successful demonstrations. “The Civil Rights Collection of the Nashville Public Library is a simple yet elegant design that brings a powerful moment in Nashville’s history back into the public realm,” the jury remarked. Photo © Gary Layda.

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