Ten21 at Five Points

Project Statement

The “Ten21” building located 1021 Russel in historic East Nashville near Five-Points is perched at the crest of 11th and Russell Street. Significantly damaged in the March 2020 tornado, the 1911 gabled structure lost two levels of the four-story masonry tower, most of the roof and majority of the original historic windows. The new tower design, as quoted in the Nashville Post, “The scale and detail pay homage to the original tower without replication, but the difference is the glowing presence that it will has at night — especially after the tornado — it is very visible from many more vantage points in the neighborhood.”

Originally built as the Russell Street Presbyterian Church, the structure was the home to several church congregations, a funeral home and most recently the YCAP of East Nashville. New uses include two restaurants, retail and office spaces. Historical Restoration included re-creating the “lemon-wedge” shaped half-round windows in the Sanctuary that were lost in the tornado. The 6,000 square foot addition provides accessibility and additional office and retail space that fronts 11th Street along with providing outdoor seating.

Framework for Design Excellence Narrative

The restoration and addition of the historic Ten21 at Russell Street exemplifies multiple principles from the Framework for Design Excellence.  First, related to Design for Resources, the project is an adaptive re-use ultimately restoring the tornado damaged structure, re-using salvaged bricks in the re-build along with other architectural and finish materials.  In addition, materials such as the steel gusset plates from the heavy timber trusses that were destroyed were re-purposed by a local artist as sculpture along with other building materials that could not be re-used.  In restoring the former sanctuary “lemon wedge” windows, salvaged glass from other preservation sites were used to match the “daisy” glass that is no longer in production, rather than making new glass material.  All in all, the project was a celebration of materials and craft to reduce environmental impacts and save tornado damaged materials from heading to a landfill.  Regarding Design for Change, the building is at its heart, a mixed use flexible community center with multiple ways to adapt to economic changes in the neighborhood as it can be reconfigured into a variety of commercial, retail and restaurant spaces through multiple entries, shared core support areas and community spaces to support emerging retail.  Finally, related to Design for Integration, the building’s renovation brings the former sacred building back into the community as a neighborhood hub that tells the story of resiliency from the 2020 tornado and sets the stage with a focus on beauty, delight and the ways people continue to come together.