Citizens cast votes for East Tennessee's most notable architecture
by Paige M. Travis
It's possible that the people who feel most strongly about architecture in Knoxville are architects themselves. But the Knoxville-based East Tennessee Chapter of the American Institute of Architects hopes regular folk will weigh in with their own opinions.
To mark its 50th birthday, AIAET is planning a gala event to honor the area's best architecture. Citizens in the group's 17-county region have been asked to submit nominations for the buildings they feel qualify as noteworthy, memorable—according to the AIA, "architecture that moves you, architecture that makes an impact." And those buildings must have been completed between 1953 and 2003.
While Knoxville has countless beautiful buildings, the ones that come to mind first have been around long before 1953. Patrick Sullivan's in the Old City, the late Pickle Mansion in Fort Sanders, the old courthouse on Main Street, Confederate Memorial Hall—those historic buildings stir our affections and feelings of pride in Knoxville history. They've been around for our whole lives or tenures in Knoxville, giving them time to sink into our consciousness and affections.
Newer buildings are less likely to be instantly inspiring. People need time to get used to the structure and how it fits (or doesn't) into the community. Plus, if the building is truly contemporary, it is a mixture of styles, alluding to more than one era of architectural history, or—to further challenge or boggle the untrained civilian eye—it's a truly progressive design, something like you've never seen before.
AIAET Executive Director Ann White calls herself a "civilian" in these architectural matters. For 15 years, she's helped organize the 300 or so members of AIAET and relate the importance of building design to the community at large. The responses to ballots printed in newspapers and available on the website have been positive so far (the deadline is Oct. 27; nomination forms can be downloaded), White says, adding that most buildings of note have had a personal or emotional impact with the submitter.
"People have reminisced about why they have entered this particular building or home. It does have some significance to them individually or their family," she says. One woman has submitted the first A-frame house built in Knox County. Her family was friends with the architect, and she was very sentimental about the house.
Frank Sparkman, current president of AIAET, anticipates that many of Knoxville's most visible and frequented public buildings will be nominated, such as the City County building, the new convention center and other structures associated with downtown. He also picks the Stokely building, affectionately known as "the Spam can" on the UT campus, plus the Art and Architecture building and even Neyland Stadium, which has had enough updates in the past 50 years that most of it qualifies for nomination.
The criteria of honoring buildings built in the past half century is a challenge, Sparkman notes, because structures need time to be tested. The nomination process is about buildings that are "unique or good examples of a specific style," not necessarily the most historic or classically attractive. Sparkman considers many homes in the area as notable, but those are less likely to be nominated because they are hidden away in residential areas.
Sparkman hopes that, in addition to deciding which buildings they prefer, people will "look at their own community differently." That includes appreciating undervalued buildings like the Performance Center at Maryville College. The building is "one of the purist true modernist structures in East Tennessee," says Sparkman, who deems the building "beautiful" as it stands out on the lush campus populated by classic brick buildings. There are rumors that the college administration is considering demolishing the building.
Sparkman also mentions the former bank building and pre-Homberg location of Fairbanks Roasting Room on Market Street as a good example of modern architecture. Looking at the Crystal Building, Sparkman takes into account the time in which it was built, the ideas of the age being expressed, the modern materials used in a way that's "straightforward and visually interesting." Buildings are time capsules that reflect a moment or trend in our society's aesthetic tastes and technological status. "It's a record of our culture, its abilities and what it's able to accomplish," Sparkman says.
Many buildings likely to crop up on the list of nominations are controversial favorites, buildings that consistently inspire feelings of love and hate. Like the Sunsphere, the Marriott, the City County building and the A&A building at UT. They're not traditionally beautiful—and some people think they're downright ugly—but they can be considered exemplars in their own right.
"To be notable doesn't have to be fantastic," says Scott Busby, a former AIAET president and currently on the event's planning committee. "It has to have made some impact, positive or negative."
Local structures that might show up on the list include:
* The former Hamilton National Bank (currently First Tennessee) on Kingston Pike in Bearden. "This was one of the better modern buildings in Knoxville and certainly redefined the concept of 'bank' since it's totally open instead of being closed up like a vault," says architect Lisa Hoskins, who mentions along with this praise, as does renowned historic preservationist Randall Deford, that recent changes to the building have obscured its original nature.
* The Tennessee Amphitheater, which has received national recognition as one of the nation's few permanent tensile structures.
* Older Weigel's stores with their distinctive "butterfly" roofs.
* The UT Aquatic Center, which lost its distinctive colored glass panels, but retains the striking arched roof.
* The remodeling of McGhee Tyson airport, featuring an extensive (albeit extremely loud) waterfall/babbling brook through the middle of the ramp that leads toward the gates.
Sparkman says he hopes buildings from other counties appear on the list. The new Blount County Library will probably get a few nominations, as it won a Merit Award for New Construction from the AIAET in 2002.
As people in East Tennessee consider the buildings around them—how structures look, how they are used, and what they reflect about their creators and environs—they may gain a sense of ownership, feeling that these buildings are ours, whether we like them wholeheartedly or not. Architects make the major decisions, but we cast the ultimate judgment with our opinions.
"The idea behind this event is celebrating 50 years of AIA, but it's also an opportunity to acknowledge that after we build buildings, they do belong to the public," Sparkman says. "It's important for people in the profession to know how the public values these things." After the nominations are submitted, the panel of jurors decides on the honorees and the gala takes place on Dec. 11, the ideal ultimate result would be an eye-opening for the public and the architects who serve our community.
"We'll try to make it into something to help the community be proud of what we've accomplished," he says.
October 23, 2003 * Vol. 13, No. 43
© 2003 Metro Pulse
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Fifty Years of Architecture