Tower Ventures

495 Tennessee Street, Ste 152, Memphis, TN 38013 United States

Building Area (sf): 9,725

Completion: April 2018

Architect of Record:

LRK

Rebecca Courtney, ASID, IIDA – Principal in Charge
Tony Pellicciotti, AIA, CDT, LEED AP BD+C – Principal Architect
Jodi Davis, IIDA, NEWH, LEED Green Assoc. – Project Manager
Krissy Buck Flickinger, RA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Fabiana Vazquez
LRK and Graham Reese - Interior design

• Owner/Client:
• General Contractor: Montgomery Martin Contractors
• Electrical: DePouw Engineering, LLC - Electrical Engineer
• Engineering:
  HNA Engineering, pllc - Mechanical/Plumbing Engineer
• Other:
  
• Photography:
  Chad Mellon (#1-7, 9)
  

Inset within the envelope of a 1890 vintage brewery, the design sought to leverage the tremendous intrinsic character of the historic structure to transform the office culture from one of opaque hard walls to open connectedness.

The client, also one of the developers for the overall project, expressed a desire to be a central part of revitalizing this long-vacant, 127-year old complex of industrial buildings on the Memphis Bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River.

The design concept highlights the existing materials and textures, from the plaster, brick, and ornamental ironwork, to moments of preserved graffiti on the walls, providing a unique backdrop for the clients’ art collection while preserving the building’s character.

The first-floor atrium is clad in reclaimed materials salvaged from the building’s renovation. Offices are situated on four open levels, with new windows in the original arched openings bringing daylight to the interior of the space. Views to and from the new urban streetscape are striking. At night, a custom neon sculpture in the center of the atrium, an artist’s interpretation of the kinetic connectedness of a cell tower, activates the neighborhood through the façade. Shared elevators and stairs link each floor to the adjacent, recently renovated brewery apartments.

The office is now an anchor for a building that was until recently neglected and left fallow for 40 years. The client’s prescient vision and respect for the building’s architecture and surrounding neighborhood is apparent in their new state-of-the-art home.