With its contemporary design, Thrive at City Heights Mixed-Use Development in Nashville, Tenn., has floating planes that slide along Clifton and 27th Avenue, which are stitched together by a ribbon element. Divided into two wings, the buildings are connected with an exterior walkway.
Urban development is a fusion of living, working and socializing
Photo: Sterling Stevens Photography
Designed by EOA Architects, Nashville, the development has 29 residential flats, two townhouses and retail space along with a restaurant space on the ground level. The urban development offers a mix of living, working and socializing in a pedestrian-oriented, vibrant community in City View Heights.
Thrive at City Heights is built to the sidewalks along three public streets and a rear alley. Julie DeBow-Davis, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, associate at EOA Architects, shares that Nashville-based private developer E3 Construction Services hired the firm to design a signature project that could continue in Clifton Avenue’s transformation and inclusion into the community. “This project was designed to re-energize the commercial/residential corridor that leads to downtown,” she says. “It provides a variety of uses combining retail, residential and communal spaces to activate the street front and provide a unique vision to encourage future development and redefine a sense of community.”
Photo: Sterling Stevens Photography
According to DeBow-Davis, the design is derived from a simple parti diagram of planes tied together through a ribbon element. “The concept of the floating planes and ribbon element were first a diagram and then developed into a physical building provides a sense of dynamic linear movement that responses to the street condition,” she explains. “That parti diagram, developed early in the design process, provided for us a clear identity for the building and set up a hierarchy of textures and fenestration along the façade where we could incorporate a greater level of detail and the use of porches.”
Situated on a corner block, the building is divided into two that align with their respective streets and connect with an exterior walkway. The roof’s linear plane returns down to capture and screen the outdoor walkway, giving privacy to the individual units. “At the intersection of the two buildings a breezeway is created generating an outdoor room, suitable for relaxing and socializing and is conveniently located at each residential floor,” adds DeBow-Davis.
For the project, ATAS International Inc., Allentown, Pa., supplied its Opaline concealed fastener panels for the floating plans, as well as its Gaten Series perforated metal panels used along the outdoor walkway.
Chosen for its lightweight and durability, DeBow-Davis notes the metal panels allowed the designers to create a crisp clean edge condition at the floating planes along the façade that clearly articulated each panel as a floating plane.