21c Museum Hotel Nashville / Deborah Berke Partners

Architects: Deborah Berke Partners
Location: Nashville, TN, United States
Lead Architects / Designers: Deborah Berke, Terrence Schroeder, Stephen Brockman, Gabriel Ce, Duncan White, Gunnar Burke, Virginia Gray, Erin McCormick, Emily Martin
Lighting Design: Illumination Works
Area: 120000.0 ft2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Chris Cooper

Architect Of Record: Perfido Weiskopf Wagstaff + Goettel
Historic Preservation Consultant: Thomason and Associates
Acoustical Consultant : Babich Acoustics
Structural Engineers: Structural Design Group
Civil Engineer: Littlejohn Engineering Associates
Mep: I.C. Thomasson Associates
General Contractor: R.C. Mathews Contractor
Client: 21c Museum Hotels

Text description provided by the architects. Celebrating the authentic culture and sense of place of Nashville, the newest edition of the 21c Museum Hotels transforms a former hardware store and warehouse into a 21st century boutique hotel and destination restaurant.

The design of the hotel highlights the history of the Gray & Dudley Hardware Company building while creating a contemporary experience reflecting the vibrancy of Nashville today. A new entrance on Second Avenue leads to the public areas, which have concrete floors and exposed metal beams and columns, celebrating the building’s industrial heritage. These elements are combined with rich upholstery, a sophisticated color palette, and metal accents, creating an eclectic, contemporary juxtaposition of materials and furnishings. The lobby and gift shop also function as a lounge overlooking a double height ballroom on the lower level. Contemporary art is incorporated throughout all the public areas, including a linear gallery that leads to the restaurant.

The Southern farm-to-table restaurant features a double-height space centered on a custom wood and blackened steel bar with copper and zinc accents. Large doors open onto an outdoor dining area on Bank Alley, bringing new activity to this downtown passage.

Conference and meeting facilities are located on the second floor overlooking the double-height restaurant, creating visual connections between different spaces and making visitors feel like they are a part of the vitality of the hotel. A blackened steel staircase with perforated metal treads—industrial but refined—links the conference area to the lobby and the lower level ballroom.

On the six upper floors, which contain 124 guest rooms, historic building fabric like exposed brick and timber beams are occasionally revealed, adding texture and underscoring the building’s history and materiality. Three new light wells bring natural illumination deep into the building. Inside, dark paneled entry halls open into bright guest rooms outfitted with richly colored furnishings and contemporary art from 21c’s renowned collection.

A penthouse rooftop addition is set back from the landmarked Chicago School façade, creating space for a large outdoor terrace. The seven penthouse guest rooms allow visitors to relax indoors or out, taking in the activity of Second Avenue.

The project’s highly tactile material palette and custom details draw on the idea of craftsmanship embodied by the warehouse building, and connects the hotel to Nashville’s continuing tradition of making art, objects, culture, and food. 21c is a place where visitors and Nashville residents alike will feel right at home.