Hastings Architecture has recently completed two new K-12 projects in Nashville; the Christ Presbyterian Academy Fine Arts Center and the Montgomery Bell Academy H. Frank Burkholder Wellness Center. While the projects have vastly different programs, they’re both critical components on their respective campuses.
The 45,000-sf Fine Arts Center was designed to establish a new front door to Christ Presbyterian Academy’s campus. The project is part of a larger master plan and is sited to enclose and define a new central quad. This new central quad helps transform the 58-acre campus from being automotive-centered to one that embraces the human scale.
Brick massing wraps the building base and references existing campus scale and materiality. An undulating corrugated metal panel, meant to evoke a stage curtain, sheaths the theater house and fly tower. The brick mass opens up at the main entry to reveal a transparent lobby capped with a wooden canopy. The lobby’s glazing pattern introduces a contemporary vocabulary unique to the campus.
The lobby blurs the line between indoors and outdoors with natural materials and abundant natural light to invite curiosity and wonder through both the grand scale of the space and its sculptural gestures. An expansive light monitor diffuses light throughout the lobby and furthers the connection between indoors and out. At night, light from within transforms the building into a glowing lantern, placing the venue’s activity on display.
In total, the building comprises a 550-seat theatre, a black box theatre, makeup and dressing rooms, a costume shop, a scene shop, a green room, administrative offices, and art department offices.
The build team also included Ragan Smith (civil engineer), Civil Site Design Group (landscape architect), EMC Structural Engineers (structural engineer), C. Thomasson Associates (MEP engineer), and Solomon (general contractor).
Montgomery Bell Academy H. Frank Burkholder Wellness Center
The second Nashville project recently completed by Hastings is the 200,000-sf H. Frank Burkholder Wellness Center on the Montgomery Bell Academy campus. The project was designed to support both mental and physical health
The new center strategically cloaks the mass and scale of interior spaces while still carrying forward the campus’ architectural and formal language. It includes space to gather, host, meet, study, perform, meditate, learn, play, practice, and compete. The project’s interiors do not have the aesthetics of traditional athletics programs, but instead attempt to create a more cerebral discussion about holistic wellness.
Included in the new Wellness Center is a 1,200-seat event center; a three-court fieldhouse; a double-height indoor practice field; a golf center; a squash center; a dedicated wrestling gym; a fitness center; locker rooms; training facilities; offices for coaches and administrators; and yoga, meditation, screening, meeting, and instructional classrooms.
The Center has efficient building systems to save an estimated 20% on annual energy costs. High efficiency and low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce potable water consumption by an estimated 35% annually. The project is pursuing LEED Gold certification.
The build team also included Barge Cauthen & Associates (civil engineer), HDLA (landscape architect), EMC Structural Engineers (structural engineer), Smith Seckman Reid (MEP engineer), and Brasfield & Gorrie (general contractor).
Related Stories
| Jan 28, 2014
White Paper: How metal buildings deliver long-term value to schools
A new white paper from Star Building Systems outlines the benefits of metal buildings for public and private school building projects.
| Jan 28, 2014
16 awe-inspiring interior designs from around the world [slideshow]
The International Interior Design Association released the winners of its 4th Annual Global Excellence Awards. Here's a recap of the winning projects.
| Jan 15, 2014
Report: 32 U.S. buildings have been verified as net-zero energy performers
The New Buildings Institute's 2014 Getting to Zero Status report includes an interactive map detailing the net-zero energy buildings that have been verified by NBI.
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
| Jan 13, 2014
AEC professionals weigh in on school security
An exclusive survey reveals that Building Teams are doing their part to make the nation’s schools safer in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy.
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Jan 10, 2014
What the states should do to prevent more school shootings
To tell the truth, I didn’t want to write about the terrible events of December 14, 2012, when 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. I figured other media would provide ample coverage, and anything we did would look cheap or inappropriate. But two things turned me around.
| Jan 10, 2014
Special Report: K-12 school security in the wake of Sandy Hook
BD+C's exclusive five-part report on K-12 school security offers proven design advice, technology recommendations, and thoughtful commentary on how Building Teams can help school districts prevent, or at least mitigate, a Sandy Hook on their turf.
| Jan 9, 2014
How security in schools applies to other building types
Many of the principles and concepts described in our Special Report on K-12 security also apply to other building types and markets.
| Jan 9, 2014
16 recommendations on security technology to take to your K-12 clients
From facial recognition cameras to IP-based door hardware, here are key technology-related considerations you should discuss with your school district clients.
