University of Tennessee Health Science Center Historic Renovation

62 S Dunlap St #300, Memphis, TN 38103 United States

Building Area (sf): 219,489

Completion: March 2021

Architect of Record:

HBG Design in association with Perkins & Will Architects

HBG Design
Craig Conrad, AIA - Principal / Project Manager
Shawn Hobbs, AIA – Principal / Lead Architectural Designer
Steve Trott, AIA - Project Architect
Erie Banks, AIA - Architect
Paul Towery, ICT - Codes
Kathryn D’Andrea - Specifications
Ken Hudson, - Construction Administration
Bobbi Jo Riley – Construction Administration

Perkins+Will
Dan Watch - Principal-in-Charge
Floyd Cline - Project Manager
Andrew Crenshaw - Project Architect
Cathy Bunn - Project Architect

• Owner/Client:
• General Contractor: Flintco LLC
• Electrical: Mechanical, Plumbing, Fire Protection: Barham Cain Mynatt Engineers
  Electrical Engineer: DePouw Engineering
  Structural Engineer: Jamnu Tahiliani & Associates
  Civil / Landscape: ETI Corp.
  Food Service Consultant: Fisher & Associates
  
• Engineering:
  
• Other:
  
• Photography:
  Photography by Nick McGinn
  01 – Once a focal point of the UT campus, but vacant since 1985, the three-story Mooney Building sits prominently at the axial end of the quadrangle now housing the main administrative offices for the UTHSC Chancellor and leadership. Great care was taken to preserve the historical integrity of each building. Exterior windows were replaced with high-performance clear glass to retain the original character of the façade and utilitarian metal guardrails were replaced with period-correct precast balustrade railings around the courtyard. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  02 - A critical enhancement to the Mooney building’s main entrance involved replacing a central elevator shaft with a monumental wooden staircase, spanning all three floors. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  03 - The completely new staircase design and structure was crafted to appear of the same historical period styling of the original building. Other original staircases in the buildings were repaired and restored to their original grandeur. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  04 - Demolition required a surgical-like approach to preserve important original architectural details. Each building was completely gutted. The blank slate allowed for thoughtful and efficient layouts to support each structure’s new function, and help seamlessly integrate modern electrical, mechanical and IT building systems into structures that were never originally designed to hold this type of infrastructure. New layouts also allowed for the incorporation of various open lounge spaces into staircase landings and high traffic areas to facilitate impromptu interactions between professors and students. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  05 - The grand Gothic refectory in the Mooney building, a magnificent former library on the second floor, was refurbished and enhanced with modern IT capabilities. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  06 – Wrapped in ornate wooden beams and millwork, a grand fireplace, and high arched windows that filter natural light, the large space maintains its 30-foot-high ceilings as a traditional setting to host formal university gatherings. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  07 - Adjacent to Mooney is the Crowe building, which was used as lab space until 2015. The 53,390-square-foot renovation allowed for a new more efficient layout for the university’s College of Nursing, while maintaining much of the historic design aesthetic within new offices, conference rooms, classrooms, main student lounge and other spaces. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  08 - The Nash and Nash Annex Buildings adjoining the Crowe Building add 68,000 square feet of Grade-A wet-laboratory space to the school. Constructed in two phases, the Nash complex includes the original Gothic structure constructed in 1952 and an Annex portion constructed in 1987 that included laboratories and a five-story atrium in between. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  09 - The Nash renovation allowed for not only modernization and efficiency of the facility, but also innovation, creating generalized, flexible lab spaces and break out team spaces that will serve research needs well into the future. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  10 - Designers renovated the existing Nash atrium, once a dark and uninviting space, into a light, airy, and open environment full of streaming natural lighting that provides a communal connecting space encouraging interaction of ideas. Photo by Nick McGinn
  
  

The University of Tennessee’s College of Medicine originated over 100 years ago in a historic quadrangle of the Mooney, Crowe and Nash buildings. After sitting vacant and semi-dilapidated for years, these key university structures have been renovated and restored to accommodate the school’s modern needs and re-establish the quadrangle as the nucleus of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center campus.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center embarked on a revitalization and restoration of the historic heart of the campus. The original quadrangle of buildings were designed in the 1920s using St John’s Quad at Oxford and Trinity College Quad at Cambridge as inspiration.

Two design firms were tapped to lead distinct areas of the Mooney, Crowe and Nash building renovation. The local historic adaptive reuse and office design specialist lead the historic renovation and redesign efforts for the Mooney and Crowe buildings, while the specialized laboratory design firm oversaw the renovation of the Nash and Nash Annex laboratory buildings. The Mooney building was refurbished to accommodate the new Chancellor’s administration offices, and the Crowe building became the new home of the acclaimed Nursing school program. The Nash building and Annex were designed to hold the relocated physiology department within dedicated Grade A lab space.

The restoration and new design for the quadrangle provides a unifying sense of arrival, place and enclosure that is now a focal point for the campus and university community. The sense of place, history and community continues within the buildings, and they have been carefully restored to their former grandeur.