1111 Church Street

Project Statement

Simple gestures inform the design features, including exposed columns and the largest amenity deck in Nashville. Executing an organic and human-natured conceptual design for the amenity deck informed how the project approached its programmatic needs. With 380 one and two-bedroom apartment units, there are over 52,000 square feet of interior and exterior amenities for the exclusive use of residents.

The tower’s positioning takes advantage of its site, in response to the project’s central design challenge. The street frontage along the Church Street viaduct is elevated over 30 feet from the rest of the property. Connectivity was achieved by creating a monumental stair leading pedestrians from Church Street down to the upgraded alley lined with retail storefronts. The integration of the alley creates pedestrian engagement and establishes a uniform context between the street fronts and the base of the tower.

Emerging out of the base with strong verticality, the tower’s modernist design gives hierarchy to the exposed structural concrete columns that extend beyond the roof line. A minimal palette allows the domination of glass, accented with metal and exposed concrete, to reflect the building’s surroundings. Twenty-one stories rise above Church Street, and the remaining four stories are “subgrade” beneath the elevated viaduct. Approximately 150 public parking spaces serve retail patrons and the surrounding community.

From its prime location, residents can easily access the vibrant city and its myriad of attractions. The project boasts meticulously landscaped green spaces that serve as a peaceful urban oasis for its residents.

Framework for Design Excellence Narrative

Integration - A major component of what this project seeks to achieve is a connection from the elevated viaduct down to grade while activating as many fronts as possible.  A monumental stair is meant as the integration between retail uses that engages the pedestrian along the predominantly glass storefronts.  The scale and massing of the parking structure is placed at the viaduct level extending down to grade as to allow for a human-scaled and active Church Street frontage.  The amenity level concept explored through the desire lines of the floor plan was implemented both inside and out for the resident’s use to more cohesively integrate the interior and exterior moments of respite and gathering.


Well Being - This project deliberately over accommodates outdoor space to give reprieve to the building’s occupants from the daily fast-paced urban lifestyle.  The ample amount of glass at the street edges, the amenity deck, and the apartment units allow for plenty of natural daylighting and connection to the outdoors.  The project also boasts a large fitness facility complete with private workout rooms along with steam showers and saunas to compliment the robust wellness offerings.


Discovery - There were several moments of discovery for the project within the design process.  The technical analysis allowed for the design team to design a building with exposed concrete while meeting energy performance and thermal comfort through various WUFI studies.  The exposed structural concrete reminds the exterior of the individual craft and labor that went into creating the framework of the building that is predominantly glass.  Conceptual analysis led to additional discoveries particularly on the amenity deck’s second floor.  The resin model experiment allowed for the design team to observe desire lines for not just the outdoor amenities, but for the entire floor as well.  The resultant makes for a truly organic moment to exist on the parking structure’s roof