For a brief time in my life – ages twelve through fourteen – I entertained the notion of becoming an architect. When, however, I realized in a ninth grade art class that architecture was more than pretty drawings and meticulous models – that architects actually spent a lot of time doing technical calculations, spent a lot of time working on computers – I abandoned the notion entirely. But, a brief tour of the Hastings Architecture Associates’ building in downtown Nashville re-ignited my interest in the field. My passion for math has not increased in the last nine years, neither has my tolerance for computers. It was simply the thought of being able to work in such a space that got me thinking of my long retired dream of becoming an architect.
David Bailey and Erik Lund, both partners at Hastings, took us on a tour of their building, the first LEED certified in the state (it is still the only LEED building in Nashville). We have toured many LEED buildings thus far on the trip, but none were so appealing to me as 127 Third Avenue South, because none of the others was a renovation of a beautiful original structure. The architecture firm, in selecting the more than 100-year-old former furniture store, chose to save as much of the original building as possible both because the structure was beautiful, and because by saving it the firm significantly cut the amount of new material needed for construction. As a result of this environmental and historical conservation decision, the building retained polished wood floors, bare brick walls, and raw wood columns and ceiling beams.
The most important addition made during the renovation was a series of large windows set into the south face of the building that allow for passive solar and, unlike most modern offices’ windows, open to bring fresh air into the work space. The work space itself was beautifully designed. Rather than following the traditional layout pattern of partners’ offices set beside the windows with cubicles on the interior – blocked from sunlight and air – the partners’ offices at Hastings were positioned along the north wall with only glass partitions separating them from the rest of the work space. There were no cubicles, only open groupings of desks that the firm calls studios. Since the firm moved into 127 Third Avenue South, the company has recorded a fifteen-percent decrease in absenteeism. This decrease only emphasizes the importance of the built environment for employee health, productivity, and job satisfaction.
If one must work in an office, I cannot imagine a better one than Hastings’. With enough raw wood, clean air, and abundant light, technical calculations might be made palatable even to me.
By: Savanna Ferguson
1 comments:
The Hastings Architecture Associates' building does seem like a nice building to work in. I especially like the fact that they had retained most of the old structure's look. That means less destruction and pollution for the places and people in close proximity to the building at the time when they were renovating. I really like it that the windows can bring fresh air into the office. Judging from the drop in the rate of absenteeism, I'd say that this is really conducive to working. Now if only other buildings were this way, maybe more people would be enticed to work.
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