The Place at Fifth + Broadway Receives AIA Chicago’s Design Excellence Honor Award

THE PLACE AT FIFTH + BROADWAY RECEIVES AIA CHICAGO'S DESIGN EXCELLENCE HONOR AWARD

We are delighted to share that The Place at Fifth + Broadway has been awarded AIA Chicago's Honor Award for Design Excellence in the Architecture Large category! The PHamily was at DESIGNIGHT on Monday, September 12th, to cheer on our Fifth + Broadway design team: George Pappageorge, Timothy Kent, Gregory Klosowski, and Scott Schultz.

The Place at Fifth + Broadway is a 34-story residential building at the west end of the Fifth + Broadway development in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee. The master plan also includes an office building, retail, restaurants, and entertainment components organized along an L-shaped internal alleyway. The rehabilitated city block replaces the city’s former convention center with state-of-the-art facilities that invigorates downtown Nashville and spotlights the city’s vibrant culture renowned for live music, honky-tonks, and nightlife. The residential building’s podium complements this historic urban context while the tower’s modern, gray glass volume stands out as a recognizable feature in the city’s skyline.

Challenges and Resolution to Achieve Client/Design Goals

Alleys tucked away from main streets that provide intimate retail and dining experiences are a part of Nashville’s unique streetscape that the client wished to recreate throughout the Fifth + Broadway development. These narrow alleys are a defining theme for the commercial block as well as a key element in the design of the residential building.

The spatial configuration inside takes its cues from the programming of the larger Fifth + Broadway master plan. The L-shaped commercial alley is designed to feel full and compact, and this spatial compression creates a feeling of intimacy that drives human interaction. The heightened energy, as a result, makes the space feel more dynamic and lively. Inside the residential building, various private and semi-private rooms are organized along a central circulation path, recreating the scene outside. Every nook and cranny is an opportunity for different textures and experiences that echoes Fifth + Broadway’s eclectic combination outdoors.

Nashville’s deep-rooted culture of music and entertainment is also mirrored in the collection of unique amenity spaces at The Place at Fifth + Broadway. The building boasts a wide array of aesthetics and materials in each recording room, screening room, business center, gym, yoga studio, and several other indoor and outdoor entertainment spaces. Community lounges and balconies at every third level of the tower are positioned on the east side of the building, allowing residents to visually engage with the entertainment from the commercial scene below.

Unique Design Features and Originality of the Design

The design of The Place at Fifth + Broadway is focused around two clear volumes influenced by Nashville’s architectural precedents and the city’s urban lifestyle. With the timeless architectural language of the building’s podium paired with a sleek, elegant tower above, the building’s design represents a thoughtful partnership between traditional and modern values.

A loft-like brick base podium embraces the historical aesthetics found on Broadway and conveys a sense of permanence and age. The iconic main street is full of legacy bars and local’s favorite restaurants, forming a street wall of mostly low-rise buildings comprising mixed brick and terra-cotta details. The base of the residential tower emulates these traditional building features in a continuation of the pedestrian experience along the street.

While the podium is a visually heavier masonry block that melds into the existing streetscape, the tower is a dazzling contrast that lightly rests atop its base, designed to stand out as a recognizable feature in the city’s skyline. Tying the two masses together is a repeating grid pattern that rises from the structural grid of the podium. The apartment tower’s grey glass volume is overlaid by a black aluminum grid designed to anchor the tower and accentuate the building’s form, making it both legible and distinct from the surrounding structures.

June 27, 2021July 27, 2021

An Urban Project: 465 North Park

AN URBAN PROJECT: 465 NORTH PARK

Three key factors needed to be addressed at the site of 465 North Park: the built environment, the natural environment, and the social context. The project is sited in the city’s prestigious Streeterville neighborhood at the gateway to one of Chicago’s most famous tourist destinations, Navy Pier. The city block that the building is located borders the Chicago River to the South, Lake Michigan and the Ogden Slip to the East, and North Columbus Drive, one of nine routes that link the northern and southern halves of the city, flanks the block to the West. Surrounding the site is historic architecture and commercial buildings, including the modern Loews Tower and the Chicago Tribune Tower whose view corridor restricted the height of construction on the southern portion of the site.

“The elegantly curved facades of the elliptical towers provide visual relief (as opposed to harsh corners) by opening up sightlines past the building in all directions towards iconic buildings (built environment) and towards the lake (natural environment).” - Christopher Chiu

The chosen plan was one derived from an overlay of three ellipses. Christopher Chiu, who was an integral part of the CD and CA stages of the project, remarks, “the elegantly curved facades of the elliptical towers provide visual relief (as opposed to harsh corners) by opening up sightlines past the building in all directions towards iconic buildings (built environment) and towards the lake (natural environment).” This approach engaged the rectangular Loews Tower as a more organic counterpart. Its slender profile pushed to the corner made 465 North Park seem the taller of the pair from some angles. The elliptical plans were overlaid and canted in a way that conserves the Tribune Tower’s sightlines, allows for sweeping panoramic views in all directions, and admits natural light across the entire depth of the floor plates. The full-height window walls reflect the immediate context, thereby further reducing the appearance of a visual obstruction when viewed from the exterior.

At a social level, 465 North Park receives heavy foot traffic from those who work in the city as well as tourists. With the north facade of the building base making up a part of the street wall that leads to Navy Pier, there was an opportunity for visual as well as physical interaction between the building and the pedestrians. The elliptical form of the tower flows down to the front, southwest corner of the site, allowing the tower to engage the street and bring focus to the first floor retail spaces. The tower masses are thoughtfully pulled back from the property lines above the 4-story podium to divert its imposing height from the street level. An internal parking lot rising five stories inside the core is screened from view by residential units wrapping the lower floors along the two primary street fronts. Heather Faircloth designed the laminated dwellings on the face of the garage podium which both hides the parking garage and creates active space above the retail that further strengthens the urban connection. The 2-story loft-style townhome units just under the 6th-floor amenity deck are high enough off the ground to reduce noise from the city and still enjoy people watching on the street below. These units at the base of the building are some of the most expensive and sought-after rentals in the development.

Exchanges within the building mass are also treated as an extension of the social context. Interaction is encouraged through the open floor plans of the nearly one acre of interior and exterior amenity spaces spread over three different levels. The amenity spaces include lounges in both expansive and intimate settings, a business center, conference room, demonstration kitchen and dining room, swimming pool, and lushly landscaped gardens. Replete with high-end finishes and details, Christopher Chiu notes how "the amenity draws residents to linger, socialize or explore while soaking up the views on all sides.” Despite the sprawling size of the main amenity deck on the 6th floor, residents get a sense of being cradled inside the urban context with a direct connection to the city. The niche dining and grilling stations, fire pits and planters scattered throughout the amenity decks also provide semi-confined spaces for smaller-scale interactions without giving up the views.

June 15, 2021June 24, 2021

1847 N Humboldt Project Highlight

CENTURY-OLD CHURCH TRANSFORMED INTO ONE-OF-A-KIND APARTMENTS

Churches regularly dot the corners along historic Humboldt Boulevard, yet rarely are they found mid-block as is the church serving as the anchor for this project. The unique siting of 1847 N. Humboldt presented a challenge - how to preserve the valuable character and architectural integrity of a neighborhood landmark and transform it into a modern residential building - all while working within the constraints of the site's infill location mid-block.

The site previously had a parking lot on the boulevard which, in effect, was a visual missing tooth along the otherwise uniform street-wall of residential buildings lining the block. One of the first moves was to relocate parking to the alley which then made it possible for a new addition to close this gap at the street. The reimagined structure is in three parts. The first being the former church structure which contains 6 dwellings. The second, a new annex in the place of the parking lot, matches the setback of the church's facade and adds an additional 9 units. The third, a glassy central spine, set-back slightly from the others, serves as both the main entry as well as primary circulation for the residents.

Visually, the church is the focus, with the annex serving as a strong, quiet partner. The form of the annex takes its cues from the proportion and rhythm found at the church, but the detailing is simplified and it utilizes darker, more uniform materials in order to highlight the lighter, more ornate limestone facade of the church. The light-filled spine allows all residents to benefit from the character of the church - as it’s located along the church wall, with exposed stained glass and views along the church’s side facade from all levels. A window on the third floor facing the rear, along with the double-height glazing at the front washes the vaulted space with natural light and views from both directions.

Project Architect: Jon Young