100+ Years of Design
In 1915, BarberMcMurry Architects was founded in Knoxville by Ben McMurry and Charles I. Barber, son of famed residential architect George Barber. Over the past century, BarberMcMurry has designed dozens of the most iconic and distinctive buildings in East Tennessee — from Charles Barber's Beaux Arts inspired designs to mid-century modern to today's progressive and modern styles.
From 1915 to the end of World War II, BarberMcMurry played a major role in designing new buildings not just in Knoxville, but across East Tennessee and into Kentucky, North Carolina, and throughout the southeast. The June 1930 issue of Southern Architect and Building News was entirely devoted to the firm's work.
Whether the design is monumental or modest, BarberMcMurry's designs over the past century share a notable expression of character and an intense attention to detail. The quality and visual appeal of materials, the interest of varying textures and colors, the values of contrast and harmony, are characteristics BarberMcMurry's current projects share with its legacy.
