Updates, Updates, Updates

I took a quick drive today to check on some projects. Here's what I found:

* Work has resumed on 30North Office Condos, the four-story structure near Centennial Park and being developed by the Graymont Group (which did the 2222 Building in 12South). The big hole sat empty for what might have been a year, but now the building is out of the ground and I saw lots of equipment there today. Like 2222 (and disturbingly), some of the first-level entrance seems "above sidewalk grade," a model for which I am not a fan. However, 30North is being sited to the sidewalk, so that's encouraging.

* Work on The Maxwell in West End Park is in its final stages. I drive by about once every three weeks and from what I saw recently, seemingly no exterior progress has been made since my last drive-by. However, I did re-check a few days later and men were on the site.

* Also in West End Park, Artesia nears completion, while The Acropolis looks about 50-60 percent finished. The two buildings offer radically different exterior designs, and I'm not sure which I prefer. Artesia is very 21st century, with handsome dark brick and the type green metal roofing that will age gracefully. But some of the elements (including a handful of circular windows and some curved shapes) are questionable. In contrast, The Acropolis is stately and traditional, but excessively replica. Neither hits a home run regarding exterior design. But both are acceptable, solid additions to the general West End district.

* Velocity is showing some "1980s-popular colors" (maroon and medium olive) that look horrid. Also, the futuristic caps topping the two entrance columns — though of a sharp design — appear very impermanent and flimsy. On a positive note, Velocity offers interesting exterior shapes and definition.

* 12 & Paris (next to the Cypress Building) is out of the ground, while work on Gale Loft Apartments and Jefferson Street Lofts (between Third and Fourth) has started, too. Core Development is the developer of all three. I predict 12 & Paris will be a great addition to the city based on various factors. I'm not, however, as optimistic about the other two, as they border no buildings specifically and are sited within overall "built-fabric contexts" that are lacking (at best). Perhaps GLA and JSL will serve, over time, will spur quality growth in their two respective areas.

* The verdict is in: The exterior of the new Downtown YMCA rates a 9 to 9.5. Excellent work from Allard Ward Architects.

Memphis: Orderly with a Vintage Touch

Memphis.

For those who relish a traditional and old-school manmade environment, there is no Tennessee city that can rival it.

Not even close.

Recently, a long-time friend and I took a day trip to the Bluff City. My buddy — a “city hobbyist” who nonetheless knows a good bit about the fundamentals of a quality urban built fabric — had never truly explored Memphis. After six hours of aggressively driving the city’s parkways and avenues while clinically dissecting vintage structures, 1960s-era office buildings and fabulous streetscapes — and after enthusiastically exploring (both via car and on foot) the Pinch, Cooper-Young, Harbor Town, the south side, Midtown and the Central Business District — my dear friend came away impressed.

So, too, did I — even though this was my fourth visit (in four years) to Memphis, including one stay during which I drove about 100 miles throughout the city’s dense central core.

Given my familiarity with the buildings, streetscapes, planning efforts and mixed-use districts in both Memphis and, of course, Nashville, what follows is one man’s comparison of Tennessee’s dominant cities.

Memphis: More than any other characteristic, “orderliness” dominates Memphis much more so than it does Nashville. Within 30 minutes of our “tour,” my friend noted how consistent and clean the Memphis streetscape is. And how, unlike in Music City, the Memphis core is so much more building dense. He’s dead on.

Within the city’s Interstate 240 loop — an area covering a minimum of 70 square miles (and maybe as many as 80-85 square miles) — nearly every street offers proper sidewalks and curbing. Street signage is consistent. Mailboxes, one of the great culprits of street-side clutter, are typically placed on front porches. Alleys, which eliminate the need for front-yard driveways (another cause of visual clutter, particularly when of the gravel variety), are much more common in Memphis than in Nashville. Housing styles flow smoothly from district to district. Numerous Memphis buildings are sited at the sidewalk, thus minimizing huge surface parking ponds that (here we go again with the visual clutter theme) allow for unsightly auto storage. Memphis, compared to Nashville, has far less “dead space” and fewer swaths of unused or underutilized real estate. In short, Memphis historically has been vastly better planned than Nashville (notorious for its many old neighborhoods and commercial districts with ramshackle vibes). This foresight, courtesy of Memphis leaders since the early 20th century, has resulted in a much more efficient maximization of space, with the Bluff City’s manmade environment acting in a more urban manner related to is surrounding natural environment.

Another noticeable Memphis built environment trait is the city’s impressive collection of pre-1950s-constructed buildings. Downtown, of course, offers many of the best examples. However, various Midtown stretches of high-profile streets, including Madison, Poplar and Union avenues, are framed nicely by such vintage building stock. Even the inner-I-240 rectangle bordered by Summer Avenue on the north, East Parkway on the east, Park Avenue on the south and Perkins Avenue on the west offers a respectable number of charming old commercial/retail buildings.

Next, and related to the second element just mentioned, Memphis contains much more “grit” than Nashville, more historic water towers, smokestacks, factories, storage facilities, industrial sites, old viaducts, etc. This gives the city a certain authenticity and “coolness” that the more “sterile” and generic Nashville simply cannot match.

Lastly, the Memphis built fabric fans from downtown and the Mississippi River. So you cannot encircle the city's downtown for a variety of angled view. However, if you are driving via, say, Poplar Avenue and from I-240, the stretch of urban mass is quite eye-opening.

Nashville: In comparison to Memphis, Nashville showcases significantly more contemporary buildings. Though Nashville’s urban core (the area with decent building density, street grid and orderliness) spans a modest 25 to 30 square miles, it has seen a mini construction explosion of sorts since the late 1990s. This architecture and development frenzy has rendered Nashville somewhat similar to Atlanta and Charlotte, the two Old South cities that best define a “New South architectural design vernacular.” During a mere 10-year span, Music City’s downtown, Midtown, Vanderbilt/West End corridor, Gulch, SoBro, Germantown and Five Points have added no fewer than 100 buildings (many of them sleek and bold). In contrast, there is, at best, a minimal “21st century architectural vibe” within Memphis’ massive inner interstate loop. A smattering of recently constructed buildings is simply too randomly place or blandly designed to command attention.

A very specific characteristic of Nashville’s manmade environment (and somewhat connected to the previously noted trait) is the number of buildings 100 feet or taller. It’s difficult to accurately compare Memphis and Nashville in this category, but based on personal observation and lists found at emporis.com and skyscrapercity.com, Nashville offers at least 33 percent (and maybe 50 percent) as many “tall” buildings than Memphis. The difference is noticeable.

Next, Nashville’s downtown is like a wheel’s center, with the mass of the city dispersing like spokes from that core and the Cumberland River snaking through its gut. To an extent, this minimizes the impact of what little street griddedness the city contains (or could ever have boasted). But it does provide for multiple viewing angles of the Central Business District.

Lastly, because Nashville is extremely hilly, the “built environment vistas” offered to pedestrians, cyclists and motorists alike — and courtesy of the rolling natural environment — can be quite visually striking. Navigate Nashville, and big buildings and cool urban massings can literally “pop up out of nowhere.” In contrast, Memphis is fairly flat, with modest changes in topography and street bends offering rather predictable viewsheds.

In summary, my good friend and I spent at least an hour of our 3:15 drive back to Nashville comparing and contrasting the manmade fabric of the state’s two most prominent cities. Both have their strengths, and warts. From a planning, layout, topography, architecture and development perspective, Memphis mirrors a mini-St. Louis; Nashville, a mini-Atlanta. No doubt, the two Tennessee cities are very different regarding their physical arrangement and feel.

A New Grocery Model — in Belle Meade, No Less

The new Belle Meade Town Center will soon unveil the building to be home to Harris Teeter. Normally, this would mean nothing on a design level, as Nashville's big-box grocery buildings are, collectively, no more interesting (in terms of design, function, or both) than most network TV shows.

But this ain't your typical grocery structure, as Teeter will peddle its foodstuffs from the city's first big-box building (regardless of tenant type) with a main entrance that does not face, nor is accessed via, a massive surface parking lot. In fact, HTeet shoppers will park below an adjacent building (The Marquee at Belle Meade) and, if they choose, enter the Teeter interior without exposure to the elements. This underground parking design concept borders on radical by suburban Nashville's built environment standards.

The Teeter building is part of a larger redevelopment of the old Belle Meade Theatre building and its attached retail strip. Also part of the new BMTownCenter is the aforementioned three-story The Marquee at Belle Meade (which includes 54 upscale apartments and a Regions financial center). Next door is the five-story Belle Meade Court condo building, also soon to open.

The entirety of BMTCenter/BMeadeCourt is highly unusual on many levels. In addition to the lack of the ubiquitous asphalt surface parking lot, the complex features a Regions ATM that is "wedged" between a towering retaining wall and the east side of The Marquee. Thus, this is one of Nashville's only ATM buildings that is the center of a "canyon-like" built form. Very cool.

The back of The Marquee offers white and gray metal siding, giving the building a highly industrial look. Its south and west sides show nice brick detailing and color. Also, the building is very angular. In contrast, the Teeter building — with its white, blue and gray color pallette and prominent glass components — offers some rounded edges, thus playing effectively off the original BMTheatre complex's curvilinear forms.

Belle Meade Court is juxtaposed with the contemporarily designed new buildings with a fairly bland presentation of traditional materials and shapes . Despite its staid and unadventurous exterior, BMCourt provides nice height and massing and likely was designed with the nearby building home to Street Dixon Rick Architects in mind.

The two residential buildings will help fuel the Harris Teeter with a built-in customer base. As I walked the development yesterday, I envisioned residents of the The Marquee and BMCourt strolling to the bank, the grocery and the shops along the northern front of the venerable theatre building. Very nice. I also noticed how thickly packed the buildings are. There will not be much blistering sun to light the bulk of the space, a refreshing change considering Nashville's manmade environment is extremely "open-spaced."

Giarratana Development and Newport Development teamed to create BMCourt, while Giarratana and PGM Properties partnered for Belle Meade Town Center. Having worked on both projects and a local entity with a growing understanding of urban issues, Giarratana showed nice vision with a dense built fabric in an area in need of such.

The Curious Case of Slanting Building Shapes

A soon-t0-open residential building in Germantown (some would say, technically, it's in Salemtown) offers a design element that is rarely seen with Nashville buildings: unconventional geometric shapes. And in this case, the slant.

The three-story four-unit development mentioned above, located on the northeast corner of the Sixth Avenue and Hume Street T-intersection, specifically features slanted roofs for each of its four residences. Nashville-based DA|DA designed the building, a name for which I cannot seem to determine (so we'll call it Sixth & Hume). DA|AD's involvement is noteworthy given the company wove its architectural magic with another slanted-roof-line gem: The West Eastland. Also, the two DA|AD-designed buildings on the northeast corner of Sixth and Hume offer slanted roofs — although the buildings are not nearly as attractive compared to the design firm's other work due to their odd color scheme and suburban-flavored stacked stone elements.

Other design highlights for Sixth & Hume include four segments of stucco with nicely contrasting colors (olive, medium gray, dark tan and beige), a dark and handsome brick, and Hardie siding on the third level.

Look closely and you'll see sleek light fixtures framing doors nicely defined with four horizontal windows each (a subtle yet effective touch).

Sixth & Hume is a solid example of the type urban infill residential construction Nashville desperately needs, as its bold color palette, economical utilization of space, massing and height combine cleanly for a successful presentation. Developer The Baskin Co. deserves credit for this fine addition to the city's north side.

A Humdinger of a Building

Metro Center is home to some seriously bad architecture and sprawl. For those who appreciate building density/attractiveness, a drive through this commercial area just north of downtown is no more enjoyable than a serious case of stomach cramps. One exception, however, is a distinctive building segment of the complex housing Crest Hummer of Nashville.

You can't miss the exterior of this contemporary building as it clearly contrasts with the remainder of the Crest Hummer facility (located on Metro Center Boulevard) and wildly plays off all the generic junk in the general area.

Specifically, a half-arched roof caps a sea of glass and metal. No brick. No dryvit. No split-face concrete block. No Hardie siding. Just shiny metal and glass. While no architectural masterpiece, the building succeeds in making a statement among its nondescript neighbors.

Ironically, the most design-edgy structure in the entirety of Metro Center is devoted to accommodating vehicles, necessities of life that have — perhaps more than any other within American society — lulled us into producing ugly building design and dysfunctional place-making.

Touring Signor Terrazzo

What does Nashville get when you combine Hastings Architecture Associates and Manuel Zeitlin Architects? A semi-masterpiece in the form of Terrazzo.

Slated for completion by late March and designed by the aforementioned Nashville-based companies, this 14-story mixed-use building shines both inside and out, as I learned today during a 45-minute tour courtesy of general contractor The Parent Company. While assessing this soon-to-be-completed gem, I found the materials to be top notch and the craftsmanship handled with conscientiousness. A mixture of uses (retail, office and residential), a strong addressing of the 12th Avenue and Division Street intersection and a perfect scale (neither excessively tall nor too diminutive) render the building versatile and inviting.

If there were any doubt that Terrazzo does not boast the best exterior of all other 150-foot-plus-tall post-2000-built Nashville buildings, let the doubt end. Earthy Minnesota limestone contrasts splendidly with green-tined glass to create walls of beauty. The "understated turret-like" northwest corner of the building — about 220 feet tall from sidewalk to roof — represents an exterior highlight. Accompanied by four friends (all "built-environment enthusiasts"), I viewed the first floor (BB&T bank will occupy a portion with space reserved for a restaurant), Floor 2 (office space), the commons floor (pool, fitness room and lounge) and various units (including two of five penthouses). Wow.

Developer Crosland deserves much credit for not skimping on either exterior or interior materials. Likewise for hiring MZA and HAA. Hastings led the design of handsome mid-rises Roundabout Plaza (an A-minus effort) and SunTrust Plaza (B), while Zeitlin's best work might be the cutting-edge building home to the Tennessee Association of Realtors (A-minus). Both firms prefer 21st century applications, and Terrazzo nicely exhibits a contemporary flair that holds true to that preference.

What I've Gleaned by Viewing The Glen

To quote the words from the fuzz-guitar classic Social Distortion song: "I was wrong."

Wrong to predict — as I did to various friends about four months ago — that The Glen would represent the first "average" exterior of a multi-unit DA|AD-designed building. Now finished, I rank the architectural effort a solid 7 to 7.5 and consider the design clearly above average.

Developed by stalwart local entity Core Development and Nashville's most recently finished urban infill project, The Glen is a fine addition to the Hillsboro Village area. However, it is not one of DA|AD's best buildings — at least based on exterior design. For example, the architect's Madison Square, Morgan Park Place and Summer Lofts (all located in Germantown) offer a greater variety of shapes, colors and materials than does The Glen. For that matter, McFerrin Park's West Eastland (its grays and yellows contrasting boldly while its sloped roofs lure the eye skyward) is considerable more visually arresting than The Glen. In fact, I rank The Glen exterior — as a study in 21st century infill architecture — as roughly equal to that of West Eastland.

Specifically, The Glen's facade and back are quite attractive. In contrast, the side that fronts Wedgewood Avenue is a bit bland (in terms of form). Critics will argue The Glen is excessively monochromatic and clean-lined, and they may have a point. On that theme, the doors facing 19th Avenue could have been a slightly "edgier" style so as to render the overall structure somewhat less understated. On a positive note, the building's height and massing are perfect for a T-intersection, especially one in the bustling Hillsboro Village. In addition the color scheme, though unadventurous, is quite masculine.

Overall, The Glen is a fine addition to the city's ever-changing built fabric. Though not DA|AD's best work, it continues the firm's upward trajectory of well-designed urban Nashville structures.