IN 2021, ACCENDO STUDIO WAS COMMISSIONED TO DESIGN AN AESTHETIC DERMITOLOGY MEDICAL FACILITY IN DOWNTOWN CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE. THE 2,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILD-OUT, IN THE GROUND FLOOR OF A MIXED-USE BUILDING, CONSISTED OF MULTIPLE TREATMENT ROOMS, WAITING AREAS WITH PRODUCT DISPLAY, ENTRY RECEPTION, AND SUPPORT SPACES. WE WERE ASKED TO CREATE A SPACE THAT VISUALLY REFLECTED THE MISSION OF SLK - THE PURSUIT OF WELLNESS, PROMOTING POSITIVE BODY IMAGE, AND PHYSICAL HARMONY. AVOIDING THE IMPERSONAL FEEL OF MANY MEDICAL FACILITIES, ACCENDO STUDIO CREATED A SPACE THAT MET THESE GOALS THROUGH SELECTIVE USE OF A CALMING COLOR PALLETTE AND WARMING, EMOTIONAL MATERIALS.

While with PV Design, we were commissioned to create a luxury boutique hotel at a very important and prominent urban site in Chattanooga, Tennessee. At the southern end of the Walnut Street Bridge, one of the world’s longest pedestrian bridges, was an underutilized site with potential to provide connection between the downtown arts district and tourist destinations to the west. The 5-story building includes 90 guestrooms, a restaurant, spa, meeting facilities, a rooftop pool, and a rooftop bar overlooking the Tennessee River.

The design’s primary inspiration, the Walnut Street Bridge, built in 1889, is a crucial connector linking the city’s vibrant North Shore with the Bluff View Arts District. An expression of construction technique is reflected by stripping away ornamentation and exposing the structure, opening the corners to the views. The exterior facades are delineated into a twenty-five feet grid with large openings, emulating the urban fabric and drawing inspiration from the many warehouses in Chattanooga created during the era of the bridge construction. The strong roof gesture is directed toward to Tennessee River, which transports the commerce that gave life to the original settlement of Chattanooga. The hotel name also has a historical connection. Edwin Thatcher was the lead engineer of the Walnut Street Bridge.

We worked with the development team and city officials in a public/private partnership to permanently transition the section of Walnut Street directly adjacent to the hotel from vehicular to a public pedestrian plaza. This effectively converts the street into an extension of the linear park that is the Walnut Street Bridge.

The Edwin Hotel has been a great success for both the development team and the City of Chattanooga spurring more investigation and expansion of east/west urban connections.

This custom residence was designed for a family seeking to downsize to a more urban lifestyle. The design incorporated a three bedroom, two and one-half bath home into an existing brick structure. The design is a simple open floor plan on the ground level containing kitchen, dining, and living space. The upper levels contain bedrooms around a central gathering space with skylights that transmit natural light all the way down to the lower level.

During my tenure at PV Design, I lead the design team as Project Architect of 10 North. At the corner of Cherokee Boulevard and Manufacturer’s Road, 10 North is a 5-story, 89,000 square feet, mixed-use building containing 17,000 square feet of commercial space at ground level and 84 apartments on the upper floors. 10 North is located within one of Chattanooga’s most successful urban retail districts and just steps away from two of Chattanooga’s waterfront parks. The project was positioned on the site to enhance the urban fabric of the area and take advantage of the views to the south. By partnering with the local transportation authority to utilize existing parking and incentivizing multi-modal transportation we were able to minimize the impact of cars on the project and the district. Providing a unique unit mix including studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units, makes the project accessible to many socio-economic groups and diversifies product revenue streams for the development team. To integrate the exterior with the neighborhood, the design incorporates a material change at the 4th floor to visually lower the building. The primary façade, along Cherokee Boulevard, transitions every twenty-five feet to reflect the urban grid of the district and to create relief for pedestrians. Minimizing the use of natural resources was important to the team. The building systems incorporate the latest LED lighting technologies, low flow plumbing fixtures, and high efficiency glazing/insulation systems. The success of 10 North since opening is testament to the thoughtful design and expertise of the development, design, and construction team.

In 2007, plans were announced to construct several six-story condominium buildings along Stringer's Ridge, overlooking downtown Chattanooga. Once word spread that the city's green backdrop would soon disappear under these structures, the community asked The Trust for Public Land to help save the historic landscape.

While the development proposal was withdrawn in the face of local opposition, the land remained unprotected. In 2008, The Trust For Public Land launched a campaign that would eventually protect all 92 acres of the ridge. In fall 2013, the park opened to the public.

When I was with Elemi architects, we were challenged to design an observation deck to celebrate the view of downtown Chattanooga. The natural topography demanded a simple approach to structural design. Materials had to transport easily with the site about half of a mile from the nearest trailhead. The solution was a study in how to enhance the view of "outside-looking-in" kind of experience, where you can see cars, but you can’t hear them. The structural elements and guardrails are prefabricated and the decking was oriented to draw the eye to the highlight, downtown Chattanooga.

MORE COMING SOON!