David M. Powell, FAIA

{"version":"0.3.0","atoms":[],"cards":[],"markups":[],"sections":[[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"As a musician and an architect, David M. Powell, FAIA, has\neagerly embraced his role as the champion of Nashville\u2019s built environment.\nDrawing inspiration from the city\u2019s legendary songwriters, his work has\nnurtured Nashville\u2019s remarkable growth over the last three decades. In all of\nhis work as a designer, advocate, and leader, Powell has ensured that this growth\nremains steeped in context and history, celebrates Nashville\u2019s cultural\nvernacular, and protects its unique characteristics. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Powell is the son of a physicist and a musician, which offered him\ntwo divergent lenses to develop a unique perspective on the world. He arrived\nin Nashville in 1991, after receiving his Bachelor of Architecture from Oklahoma\nState University, with plans to simultaneously practice architecture and pursue\nhis love of music. After juggling both careers for nearly a decade, he retired\nfrom music to establish his practice as a founding partner of polifio, inc. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Since 2008, he has been an owner and principal of HASTINGS\nArchitecture, where he continues to employ a design process akin to\nsongwriting. He clearly articulates his vision and uncovers \u201cthe hook,\u201d\nultimately developing an overarching structure that tells a complete story.\nThis process has been integral in Nashville, where unprecedented growth and\ndevelopment have advanced the importance of public architecture and community\nspaces rooted in culture. All of Powell\u2019s work tells a story, and each\nauthentic design highlights the project\u0027s role in its community. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Powell\u2019s vision is clearly articulated in projects such as the\nBellevue Library and the Ryman Auditorium. The LEED Gold-certified library\nserves as a new front porch for a community healing from a devastating\n1,000-year flood in 2010. Its dynamic form is both welcoming and inspiring, a\nlandmark informed by the collection contained within. "]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"The Ryman Auditorium has long been considered the soul of\nNashville and one of the most important landmarks in Tennessee. Originally\nbuilt in 1892, the National Historic Landmark has been deemed \u201cthe mother\nchurch of country music,\u201d serving as the Grand Ole Opry\u2019s home for decades. The\noriginal building was saved from demolition in 1993, and Powell reimagined the\npatron experience in 2015 through an addition that balances the existing\narchitecture and a contemporary glass pavilion that gives a new architectural\nform to Music City\u2019s enduring creative legacy."]]],[1,"p",[[0,[],0,"Powell is an engaged leader in his firm and his community,\neducating the public on the importance of design and working tirelessly to\nadvance the practice of public architecture. He has been an AIA member since\n1992 and was elevated to the College of Fellows in 2016. He has been deeply\ninvolved with the Committee on Design and with AIA Tennessee. In addition, he\nhas stewarded Nashville\u2019s design community and served on the city\u2019s Civic\nDesign Center Board of Directors from 2013 to 2021. In that role, he championed\ninitiatives such as Design Your Neighborhood, a curriculum for middle school\nstudents, and Socially Conscious Design 101, a six-week public course that\neducates participants on the broader impacts of design. "]]]]}