Emblem Park
Large Project (over 25,000 sf)
Mixed-use residential development connecting Nashville neighborhoods, repurposing an existing warehouse into vibrant retail, amenities, and housing while celebrating industrial character through contemporary design strategies.
Project Statement
Emblem Park is a mixed-use residential community that bridges the Chestnut Hill and Wedgewood Houston neighborhoods with the Nashville Fairgrounds and new soccer stadium nearby. Designed as both connector and destination, the project integrates housing, retail, and public space to support a growing and evolving urban district.
Central to the design is the adaptive reuse of an existing warehouse structure, which has been transformed into retail, restaurant, and residential amenity spaces. This preserved industrial fabric establishes a foundation for the project’s architectural language, informing materiality, proportion, and detail. Corrugated metal cladding extends across façades and portions of the roof, while a series of pitched and undulating roof forms reinterpret the rhythm of the original structure and animate the public-facing edges. A restrained, monochromatic palette is punctuated with teal accents, and generous glazing at street level blurs the boundary between interior and exterior, activating live-work units and pedestrian experience.
The development includes 346 residential units, with ground-level live-work spaces engaging the new 4th Avenue streetscape and adjacent Habitat Park. Retail frontage, expanded sidewalks, and landscaped public areas invite community interaction and reinforce the project’s role as a neighborhood hub. A central courtyard—featuring a pool, cabanas, and social spaces—creates a shared amenity for residents.
Through the integration of industrial character, contemporary form, and active public space, Emblem Park offers a distinct and modern approach to multi-family living in Nashville.
Framework for Design Excellence Narrative
Emblem Park embodies three principles of the AIA Framework for Design Excellence—Design for Integration, Design for Ecosystems, and Design for Well-being—through the intentional connection of architecture, landscape, and community.
Design for Integration transforms an existing industrial warehouse into the architectural and social foundation of a new mixed-use community, connecting housing, retail, amenities, and public spaces while bridging the distinct identities of the Chestnut Hill and Wedgewood-Houston neighborhoods. A bold use of color and a layered palette of industrial and contemporary materials extends across the buildings and landscape, unifying old and new while translating the intersection of art and industry into a cohesive identity that creates beauty, delight, and a strong sense of place.
Design for Ecosystems strengthens the site’s relationship to its natural environment through native plantings within the central courtyard and surrounding landscape, supporting a more resilient urban ecology. The Habitat Park reinforces this commitment by transforming an underutilized site edge into an immersive green space shaped by native vegetation, sculpted topography, and pedestrian pathways that promote ecological renewal while creating a meaningful space for everyday community use.
Design for Well-being prioritizes spaces that encourage movement, connection, and belonging—from park-like outdoor areas and an active streetscape to flexible, light-filled interiors. The fitness center and pool support physical activity and social engagement, while new sidewalks and a bus stop along Rains Avenue—both completed as part of the project—encourage walking and multimodal travel. Together, these interventions extend well-being beyond the building, strengthening residents’ connection to one another and to the surrounding neighborhood.
LEED/Green Certifications
Price/sq. ft. if provided
n/a
Photo Captions
Photo credits / caption slide 2: Site map depicts the location of the site at the intersection of two communities – Wedgewood Houston and Chestnut Hill. Diagram by architect.
Photo credits / caption slide 3: The site’s historical influence of 1960s automobile culture inspired an influence of bold graphic language throughout the interior. Photos by Chase Brock.
Photo credits / caption slide 4: Emblem Park is positioned at the intersection of art and industry and seeks the blend the two into one through interior concepts. Photo by Chase Brock. Diagram by architect.
Photo credits / caption slide 5: The site began as an adaptive reuse of a one story industrial warehouse in 2020 – it later transformed into a mixed-use development that reconnects the Wedgewood-Houston and Chestnut Hill neighborhoods. Rendering and existing photos by architect. New photo by Chase Brock.
Photo credits / caption slide 6: The repeating gabled geometry is reinterpreted at a large scale, informing the massing and rhythm of the residential building. Rendering and sketches by architect. Photo by Chase Brock.
Photo credits / caption slide 7: Interior spaces are curated to extend the project’s architectural language into a tactile, human scaled experience. Photos by Chase Brock and Zach Unruh. Diagram by landscape architect.
Photo credits / caption slide 8: The courtyard serves as the central organizing element of the project – a physical and visual connector between the existing warehouse, residential units, amenity spaces and leasing areas. Photos by Chase Brock and Zach Unruh. Plan by landscape architect.
Photo credits / caption slide 9: The Habitat Park Extends the projects commitment to connectivity and community into the landscape by transforming underutilized edge into an active green space. Photo by Zach Unruh.
Photo credits / caption slide 10: Special care was taken to enrich the property with a spirit of eclectic artfulness. Photo by Chase Brock.
Photo credits / caption slide 11: Color, pattern, and rhythm are applied across facades, interiors and environmental graphics to create continuity and reinforce identity. Photos by Chase Brock and Tim Delger. Sketches by Tim Delger.
Photo credits / caption slide 12: Double-height volumes, visual connection and layered seating create an active and inviting atmosphere that encourages interaction and shared use. Photo by Chase Brock.
Photo credits / caption slide 13: Material, color, and form extend the project’s broader design language into the interiors. Photos by Chase Brock.
Photo credits / caption slide 14: The outdoor courtyard features a pool off of the amenity spaces. Photo by Chase Brock.
Photo credits / caption slide 15: The architect and landscape architect worked together closely to develop a lush oasis in the corridor despite the site location in the city. Photo by Chase Brock.
