Neuhoff – The Curve Building

Framework for Design Excellence Narrative

## **Design for Integration**

The Curve Building’s mystique derives from its history, its wear and tear over time, its gritty rawness, its relationship to the river, and its views of downtown. The puzzle-like process of transformation through careful selective demolition and interjection has turned a battered relic into a neighborhood icon and the focal point of a new mixed-use district.  Allowing the building to inform every design decision and tell its troubled past brings new life and a new era of stories to this cherished neighborhood landmark. 

## **Design for Economy**

Due to the condition of the building, repairing and renovating it as a stand-alone project was not economically viable.  Despite this, the client, neighborhood, and design team recognized the building’s potential and the importance of saving it. In partnership with city agencies, the team established cost offsets within the overall development to save The Curve Building. Adjacent buildings within the Neuhoff District redevelopment were granted additional height normally not allowed in the neighborhood, providing financial support while creating additional class-A office space.  With the Client’s commitment to high-quality design, materials, and construction, all stakeholders supported this tradeoff.  The repurposing of the Curve Building preserves an important Nashville landmark, creates a new destination that enriches the community’s economic growth, helps preserve history and tell Germantown’s story, and provides new experiential space unlike any offered in the city. Sustainable practices also contribute to this project’s overall success. Strategies such as low flow plumbing fixtures, water reuse for mechanical cooling towers, salvaging and reuse of building materials, and green roof systems enhances the environmental capital of this project.

## **Design for Resources**

The careful salvaging of materials and reusing of existing elements was at the forefront of the demolition strategy. While deconstructing structurally unstable areas of the building, bricks were palletized for reuse in multiple areas throughout the site. Salvaged brick was used for ground paving, repairing existing walls, and constructing new walls.  Additionally, 65% of the building’s steel windows were refurbished in-place and or relocated from demolished structures.  Before construction, a lengthy structural forensic survey of existing concrete columns and slabs was performed to inform the structural repair strategy.  A few slabs were carefully replaced where necessary, but all columns and slabs were classified as minor, medium, or major repairs. This allowed the construction team to manage costs and create a roadmap to repair the building without having to detail every condition. During construction, the team took great care to sort and separate waste and recycling materials – diverting over 87% of the total construction and demolition materials from landfills and incineration facilities.

## **Design for Ecosystems**

From the first site walk, the entire design team was inspired by the building’s rich natural materials, wild native plantings integrated throughout the overgrown site, and campus wide potential that the dilapidated brownfield site held. Our design challenge was to envision a new life for the Neuhoff Building, transitioning the site previous industrial past to a new pedestrian focused campus that encourages connections with nature, supports greenway access, provides open space for visitors to stay and experience the architecture, and provide access to the river. Our challenge began with careful historical research and site material samples helped our team assess the sites initial conditions and existing building structures. This data helped develop a remediation strategy with the construction team that provided a safe working environment for workers and community members. Carful abatement of lead paint, remediated soils, and salvaging materials and equipment for future uses throughout the building were important to allow future flora and fauna occupants to thrive. The construction team took great care over the entire lifecycle of the building process to sort and separate waste and recycling materials – diverting over 87% of the total construction and demolition materials from landfills and incineration facilities. All bricks used throughout the constriction process for new wall infill and paving were reclaimed from previous portions of the building that were demolished due to disrepair. Areas where buildings were removed created new opportunities for open space to be used by the public and private building tenants. Reclaimed brick paving, salvaged concrete fragments, and preserved limestone boulders are used throughout the landscape to tell the stories of the buildings and structures that once remained. New responsive design approaches such as green roof and future pollinator bee boxes were implemented to positively impact our ecosystem. Indoor and outdoor water collection, low flow plumbing fixtures, and using native plantings intended to grow wild and integrated into the landscape strategy allowed for an overall reduced water consumption by 33.56%. Low emitting paints and materials were specified to allow for a healthier environment for workers and future inhabitants. Using light colored ballast roof systems reduced our heat island effect as well as provided a more aesthetic fifth façade from office and residential users overlooking the building. Lastly, the lighting design for this project was inspired by the enhancement of the “new” and the “old”. A white light is used to highlight new building elements or old elements intended to take on a new intended use; while an amber light is used to wash and elevate old elements of the building. This lighting strategy transforms the buildings presence from day to night while remaining conscious of our light pollution locally and globally by adhering to out dark sky requirements.

## Design for Discovery

Through the last several decades, the Neuhoff Meat Packing Plant site drew curiosities of what its potential could be. Several workshops were concluded with local organizations and world-renowned architects, adding to a layered history of a changing vision.  The success of the Neuhoff Curve Building comes from its engagement with the community, both before and after construction, and a deep focus on lessons learned to execute a unique preservation challenge. It embodies discovery through its visitors’ experiences and sustainability initiatives and becomes a learning opportunity for all those who encounter the site, to continue to challenge what preservation can be in Nashville.

Early on in the process, the design team undertook a robust community engagement process to understand what the Germantown neighborhood envisioned for the site, rich in history and experiences for many locals, and worked to marry those ideas with the land owner’s vision, a family that had long occupied the site. Many stakeholders from the city were integrated into the planning process to ensure the project’s success, from a special rezoning to ensuring a high-quality place was created that all would benefit from. These stakeholders remained engaged in the entire construction process through regular updates and project tours.

Knowledge sharing quickly became a driver to ensuring the project was successful from start to finish. The design team visited one of the developer’s previous adaptive reuse projects, to learn about the successes and challenges that project faced during construction and later into occupation. During the design phase, the architect, structural engineer, and contractor evaluated a series of in-place concrete repair mock-ups to determine the most cost-effective and efficient repair methods that were appropriate for the building. By troubleshooting for potential issues early on, the team was able to create a repair “roadmap” that could communicate the type of repairs required for each structural element without having to detail every unique condition. The architecture team gives tours to community and neighborhood organizations, industry professionals and conferences (AIA, ULI, ASLA), city officials (Planning Department, Civic Design Center, government officials), and universities (design studios, urban planning studies, and business and development programs) to share the process and lessons learned to make it a success. The architecture team has a dedicated task force that is working toward becoming thought leaders in the community by educating others via white papers, articles, site tours, and presentations. Internally, expert design reviews are planned for future adaptive reuse projects to ensure that lessons learned carry other projects to success.

Pursuing LEED certification allowed the team to take extra initiatives for user experiences and maintaining long-term sustainable practices. By learning from the successes of projects like the Highline and Beltline, the project integrated the nearby greenway trail becoming a catalyst in Nashville for trail-oriented development – supporting opportunities for healthier lifestyles and businesses. WELL Beauty and Design and Walkable Campus credits were achieved by focusing on a pedestrian-first campus design – encouraging connections with nature, supporting bicycling uses, and promoting visitor activity through discoverable moments. The design of the Curve Building intentionally enhances a sense of urban exploration and existing and new stairs are highlighted as design features – inspiring their use as alternative paths for those that want them. The enhanced and monitoring-based commissioning process includes employee training and post-occupancy monitoring for energy and water use, ensuring the project operates as designed for environmental best-practices.

## Design for Water

The project addresses water usage and treatment on both site and building levels. To protect the adjacent river ecology and to reduce the risk of storm system surcharging and flooding, all stormwater on site was diverted for storage or treatment by following Low Impact Development strategies. Captured stormwater from the roof of the Curve Building and adjacent tower are routed to a large cistern strategically hidden in the former loading dock area of the meat packing plant. The water is then reused to serve the cooling tower and irrigation needs. A low-intensity green roof further reduces the water load taken to storage.

Due to its unique location on the Cumberland River bank, the project is located within two levels of river buffers. Special care was taken to preserve the existing condition of the riverfront by utilizing the EPA Construction General Permit for construction activity pollution prevention. This reduced pollution from construction activities by controlling soil erosion, waterway sedimentation, soil disturbance, and airborne dust that is harmful to workers and the waterway. Soil remediation of hazardous soils ensured the site was left in better condition than when it was previously in industrial operation. Native plant species, most specific to the project site, were used to recreate the “overgrown” state, greatly reducing the need for irrigation. The building is able to achieve a 33% water use reduction by utilizing WaterSense label and low-flow plumbing fixtures. Water metering allows for the building operators to monitor water consumption, better supporting water management and conservation.

## Design for Well-Being

Several strategies were explored for occupant well-being, benefitting both workers during construction and later occupants and visitors to the site. By preserving as much of the existing building as possible from the structure to re-use of windows and bricks, the project was able to reduce its long-term embodied carbon impacts when compared to typical new construction. With this strategy, the character of the building is preserved to surprise and delight users as a contrast to their everyday experiences. The design supported environmentally-conscious material sourcing by utilizing recycled and cradle-to-gate materials with special attention to environmental product declarations – receiving an exemplary performance credit by LEED. A Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan was implemented to protect the construction workers as well as the specification of low or no VOC materials. Smoking was not allowed on site during construction and a tobacco smoke control plan was put into place during building occupation to promote visitor comfort. MERV-13 filters and walk-off mats improve the indoor air quality throughout the building. Windows were added to many of the solid walls and a portion of the core of the building was removed to bring more daylight into the deep floor plates. Skylights were refurbished to preserve the daylight glow into the upper floors. The biophilic design of the site was inspired by the previous character of the abandoned and overgrown building, providing a contrast to the industrial nature of the materials. Visitors are encouraged to wander and discover a series of active and passive gathering spaces, each uniquely designed to immerse you within the landscape whether by connecting to the energetic riverfront or pausing for a quiet retreat by a fountain. The pedestrian nature of the campus encourages walkability and providing bicycle storage, repair, and shower facilities promotes alternative modes of transportation.

LEED/Green Certifications

LEED BD+C CS Silver