Christ Church Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral, seat of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee, engaged EOA Architects to realize a comprehensive master plan, including the renovation and expansion of the facilities at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Broadway in downtown Nashville.
Christ Church is an active and vibrant parish of approximately 2,000 people, with wide ranging demographics. Built in 1897 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Cathedral is located in a rapidly changing downtown neighborhood. The project includes the renovation of the existing sanctuary auxiliary & classroom spaces along with a new building addition including new east and west entrances, a new multi-functional fellowship hall space with adjacent warming kitchen and new Youth and Outreach facilities. The new addition allows the church to relocate the Youth Program to the main campus and improve the Outreach Ministry’s efficiency and effectiveness in serving the community.
As architects we enjoy the purposeful design opportunities of sacred worship spaces, working with historical architectural structures and working with clients of a shared mission. In developing the idea for the addition, we were careful to create proportional and compatible relationships to the historic structure while not mimicking the architectural style of the past.
Understanding that the existing church is composed of massive stone walls and shaped light emanating from the stained-glass windows, the design of the new addition sought to create an architectural dialogue about the idea of light and transparency. That dialogue with the existing cathedral inspired a design composed of custom perforated bronzed metal panels and glass that allows the appearance of the building to change between day and night. The large bronze panels give shape to the building structure while shading the glass and providing a quality of filtered light that permeates the new interior space. The joy for us, comes from the shared vision of the parish leadership, the building committee and the article of faith powered by the members of the parish body.
Client
Christ Church Cathedral
Place
Nashville, Tennessee
Scale
Renovation and Addition
Recognition
Photography
Corey Gaffer, Gaffer Photography
