Gresham Smith-Designed Nashville Food Project Headquarters and Kitchen Complete
Gresham Smith announces the completion of a 5,900-square-foot headquarters and commercial kitchen to house Nashville, Tenn.-based non-profit, The Nashville Food Project. This new home will bring people together in a supportive space to share nourishing food and advance the organization’s goals of cultivating community and alleviating hunger in the city.
“The Nashville Food Project had outgrown its old facility and we needed more space to continue and expand our mission. As a growing organization, we also needed a home that reflects our values and our commitment to being a place of welcome within our community,” commented Anne Sale, Operations Manager, The Nashville Food Project. “Gresham Smith helped guide us through the design and construction process and was a true partner in terms of listening, understanding and making our vision a reality. We are proud of our new home, and we look forward to serving the community here.”
“We were very inspired by this project—through design we aimed to shape a future that enhances life, inspires human potential and conveys the spirit of The Nashville Food Project,” said Chris Hoal, AIA, architect at Gresham Smith. “New for the organization is the community dining space, which anchors the headquarters. This program element allows The Nashville Food Project to figuratively and literally open its doors directly to the people it serves. Our solution incorporated the icon of the traditional house shape to signify entry and welcome people into this community space.”
The new facility supports The Nashville Food Project’s mission to grow, cook and share. It will enable the non-profit to prepare more meals in a commercial kitchen, as well as engage in community outreach such as hosting community meals and cooking classes. The Nashville Food Project shares thousands of high-quality, made-from-scratch meals per week from its food trucks to partners serving clients in need throughout the city. The organization prepares and cooks healthy meals from recovered, donated, and garden-grown food. It grows food in its own urban gardens and provides resources and support to participants enrolled in their community and market garden programs. Gresham Smith provided architecture, interior design, surveying, civil engineering and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) engineering services for the project.