ETCDC MLK Avenue

Working with the East Tennessee Community Design Center, and with community representatives from Five Points, BarberMcMurry designed this mixed-use development proposal for a parcel along Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue — taking care to respect the existing history and scale of the Five Points neighborhood and to reinforce a vibrant, walkable streetscape.

"Beginning as a partnership with the East Tennessee Community Design Center, this proposal presents an important tool for community engagement by speculating on potential approaches to collaborative neighborhood planning and development."

— AIA East Tennessee Awards Jury, 2022

The ground floor of the mixed-use development contains ample opportunities for locally-owned restaurants, a co-op grocery store, artisan markets, and other community-based retail spaces. Above are the apartment buildings, which weave across the entire site, creating and defining internal courtyards, parks, and other neighborhood amenities within the design.

The design also pays homage to local modernist painter, Beauford Delaney, and artistic touches inspired by his works appear as murals and other activations both in the streetscapes and in the apartment developments. While the development’s overall expression is modern, its response to the neighborhood scale and site conditions remains firmly rooted in Five Points. 

Sustainable features such as Net Zero energy conservation, on-site energy production, renewable building materials, green roof community gardens, and walking trails are integrated throughout the design. 

Completion Date: 2022

Type: New Construction

Location: Knoxville, Tennessee

Services: Architecture

Use: Residential

Recognition

  • 2022 AIA East Tennessee Citation Award

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