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, the Cathedral is located in a rapidly changing downtown neighborhood. The project includes the renovation of the existing sanctuary auxiliary spaces & 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 to also consolidate and improve the Outreach Ministries for greater efficiency and effectiveness.

As architects we enjoy the purposeful design opportunities of sacred worship spaces, working with historic 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 or materiality of the past. Giving consideration to the massive stone walls and shaped light emanating from the stained-glass windows of the existing church, the design of the new addition sought to create a dialogue centered around the idea of light and transparency. That conversation with the existing cathedral inspired a new addition composed of bronzed finished metal and glass. Large bronze perforated panels give shape to the building structure while both shading the glass and providing a quality of filtered light that permeates the new interior spaces of the church. 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.