Gresham Smith Named a Top EP Friendly Firm, Receives Award of Excellence from AIA Tennessee

July 29, 2019

Gresham Smith had a lot to celebrate at The American Institute of Architects/Tennessee Society’s (AIA TN) Design & Honor Awards on Thursday, July 18. The firm’s design for The Nashville Food Project’s headquarters won an Award of Excellence. Gresham Smith was also named one of the Top EP Friendly Firms of 2019, a program that recognizes firms that consistently demonstrate dedication to the professional, personal and leadership development of their Emerging Professionals (EPs).

“At Gresham Smith we understand the success of our projects stems from the success of our people. We are a firm made up of genuine, creative and hardworking people who are all in for each other, our clients and our communities,” said Al Pramuk, chairman and CEO, Gresham Smith. “We are proud to work with The Nashville Food Project, which plays an important role in our community as well as our team’s efforts to foster a culture of learning and support for young professionals.”

The Nashville Food Project, a non-profit focused on cultivating community and alleviating hunger in the city, had outgrown its space and needed a new headquarters and commercial kitchen to continue serving the city. Gresham Smith’s design reflects the organization’s brand and mission while integrating into the neighborhood in which it’s sited. Inspired by a traditional house form and constructed from white standing seam metal panels with glass voids and layers of transparency, the new building has a welcoming, yet modern feel. The building is anchored in the front corner with a community dining space, which underscores how The Nashville Project wishes to interact with and serve the community.

Understanding that emerging professionals are critical to the vitality and growth of the architecture profession, Gresham Smith provides a variety of architecture-specific training and development programs for the more than 130 EPs in addition to firmwide personal development, professional growth, and community and industry involvement opportunities. The firm was recognized for its programs to support emerging architects, including monthly Architect Registration Exam (ARE) mentor meetings, regular ARE study groups, and dedicated days for celebrating EPs who have obtained professional licensure.

AIA Tennessee’s annual Design Awards program honors build works of distinction designed by AIA TN members. The program also brings public attention to outstanding examples of architecture. Awards of Excellence are presented to the highest-scoring projects, as designated by a jury of architects. The goal of the Top EP Friendly Firms program is both to help foster dialogue within firms, between communities, and across the state to create new and innovative policies to support and develop the future members of our profession and to recognize firm’s committed to their young professionals’ development.

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