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Nashville Federal Courthouse Design Forum

smeagolsfree

By smeagolsfree
in Nashville

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smeagolsfree Gigalopolis

smeagolsfree

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The Nashville Civic Design Center will hold a forum Thursday Sept. 15 to present Michael Graves new design of the Federal Courthouse.

Time is from 6:00pm to 7:45pm at The Nashville Civic Design Center, 138 Second Avenue North.

This is on their website and there is not any new information there. I guess we will have to see it Thursday. Maybe this thing will get rolling soon.

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it's just dave Burg

it's just dave

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This is good news. I'll be there hoping to see some good stuff. A news story not long ago about the Church St. project had a bite or two about the water lines being set to accomodate the new courthouse. Seems the pieces seem to be falling together.

This is such a massive block (even keeping the Berger Bldg. intact). I hope some dramatic architecture comes our way.

Thanks for the info, s.

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memphian Hamlet

memphian

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I saw that too. It looks very..... curvy/modern which would be a nice addition to Church Street. I really like how Nashville seems to be filling in the cbd, creating an interesting environment. I'd like to see a sprinkling of retail in the 5th Ave/Church St. though. Nothing major - just options and choices really.

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I just returned from the viewing in the Doctor's Building. The plans look great if not a little conservative. The teaser photos on the design center page were not related to the actual renderings. It incorporates a seven story building (taller really since there are several double height floors). The main entrance off Church facing the library is nice with a glass rotunda entrance and even the rear of the building facing 8th and Commerce looks nice with a nice glass tube feature where the buildings wings meet. The GSA rep said Nashville is at the top of the list for federal dollars and the building is scheduled to begin late 06 or early 07. The streetscape renderings look great but the rep said often that the final product could look different depending on the site and the funds.

All in all another great addition to Church street! :thumbsup:

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designspace Whistle-Stop

designspace

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I recognize the teaser photo on the design center page. It's actually the U.S. Courthouse & Federal Building located in Islip, Long Island, New York designed by Richard Meier...

http://archrecord.com/features/bwarAwards/...s/01uscourt.asp

It's a great building, in my opinion, and Nashville would be quite fortunate if the design for the new federal courthouse is indeed similar!

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it's just dave Burg

it's just dave

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I just returned from the Civic Design Center presentation and wish I had some renderings to show, but they weren't available.

I could describe what I saw, but nashvillebound described it quite well. I found it to be a beautiful building, but not one to be described in height, or stories or any of the usual ways we approach things. It appears massive, very Michael Graves, very effective in dealing with required setbacks. The entrance to the massive rotunda at the corner of 7th and Church will provide an immense civic space and the streetscapes all around look great. The variations in the facades facing 8th, Commerce and 7th are very interesting. I love the jury towers.

Perhaps something will be in the paper, perhaps not quite yet. But, there will be a monument at Church & 8th, Commerce & 7th. It's very unique from what one would usually think of downtown buildings. And it's one that I believe will cause many to just give a "wow" when they happen upon it.

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BnaBreaker City

BnaBreaker

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I saw the design in the City Paper today and I wasn't exactly blown away. It wasn't a "bad" design persay...but it wasn't exactly impressive. I expected more from Michael Graves. It seems very ordinary and it has a very tacky greek revival ornament on top. There appears to be alot of open space around it...which could be good or bad. If Nashville is smart and takes advantage of the space and turns it into a good public gathering spot it would be good...but if the city just leaves it as is and lets it become yet another faceless empty open space with nothing to offer like Nashville has so much of already, it could be bad.

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MidTenn1 Town

MidTenn1

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I saw the design in the City Paper today and I wasn't exactly blown away.  It wasn't a "bad" design persay...but it wasn't exactly impressive.  I expected more from Michael Graves.  It seems very ordinary and it has a very tacky greek revival ornament on top.  There appears to be alot of open space around it...which could be good or bad. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I largely agree. It is a little disappointing. I admire Grave's buildings and expected a more dramatic statement on the skyline. Maybe it will look a lot better on the ground than it does in the pictures. Still it's better than a parking lot.

The dome doesn't surprise me. I had read where Graves was impressed with the limestone dome over the NES building, so I kind of thought he might add something like that.

I know the setbacks are necessary for security, but it doesn't seem to blend in well with the rest of Church Street and the zero setback structures. If they wanted to acheive the County Courthouse look, maybe they should have put in some angle parking around it.lol

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'Dave'

You sound like a person that has just admitted a sin...LOL

I unabashedly think it is great even though is not my first choice. Given all the site limitations and wanting to blend in with the classical style of the library probably painted the designers into a traditional corner. That being said the streetscape renderings are great and the rear is designed to present an attractive look 360. Another point I liked was that the surface parking will be built up with a future expansion of the courthouse.

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ATLBrain Burg

ATLBrain

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Very Disappointing! It looks like the Embassy Suites where I stay at DFW. Frankly, I thought Graves' team would create for you guys something a lot more impressive... and bigger.

Didn't the GSA commission a study that recommended over 450,000 sq.ft? This is a lot smaller than that. I think Senator Frist could have wrangled more than this. Only the government can come up with something this mediocre for $300 per square foot.

Sorry, guys. It seems to me that Nashville could do a lot better. :huh:

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