curb

TODAY! The East Tennessee Community Design Center’s Community Collaborative Design Charrette is starting. Kick-Off Event details:
• Time: 4:00 PM
• Starting location: Knox Central Building, 1000 N. Central Street
• Second site: Knox County Schools Maintenance & Operations Facility, 900 E. Fifth Avenue
• Transportation: Shuttle service provided between sites
• Refreshments and a brief presentation by Knox Heritage on site history and reuse incentives Guided tours will introduce both sites and provide important context for the design work ahead. Looking forward to seeing you this afternoon to kick off this collaborative and impactful design process! If you have any questions, please reach out to [email protected]. #etcdc #etcdccommunitycollaborative #etcdcdesigncharrette #adaptivereuse #knoxville

THIS THURSDAY! Calling all design professionals! Join us on our tour of both the Knox County Central and Knox County Schools Maintenance & Operations Building. The East Tennessee Community Design Center is kicking off the 2025–2026 Community Collaborative Design Charrette on Thursday, February 5 at 4:00 PM at 1000 N. Central Street. This year’s charrette centers on the future of two County-owned sites in North Knoxville, bringing designers, volunteers, partners, @utkcoad students, and community members together to explore ideas that can shape real redevelopment and inform public decision-making. The kickoff includes guided site tours, shuttle transportation between locations, and a contextual presentation by @knox_heritage to ground the work ahead. Whether you’re planning to participate or just want to learn more, this is the place to start. RSVP through the link in our bio. 
Questions? [email protected] #etcdc #etcdccommunitycollaborative #sears #albertkahn #knoxville

We are excited to announce that we are recipients of an AIA/ACSA Housing Design Education Award for our Housing America studios II - VII. This national award recognizes not only our work but the hard work of our many students and community collaborators over the last four years. The Housing America studio series uses housing issues as a lens to consider ethical concerns in the built environment. The first Housing America studio was also the recipient of a AIA/ACSA HDE Award. Housing America VIII: Emerging Districts is underway - join us May 1st for a public exhibit of student proposals for housing and reuse of publicly-owned properties - a once Sear's Dept Store (1947) and an Albert Kahn designed industrial shop (1929). Images: ACSA Housing America IV: Campus Housing - renovation and expansion of Grieve, Henson, Dunford, and Massey Halls (demolished since), Knoxville, TN - UTK MArch student team: Emily Atwood, Hope Tippet, Lizzy Tondreau Housing America VI: Reuse/Extension - Vertical expansion of the Wautauga Hotel (1891), now Regas/Potchke Building whose upper three stories were removed in 1963; co-taugh with UTK Asst Prof. Jeremy Magner - MArch Student Team: Anna Grace Calhoun and Rupan Fnu (2024 ACSA Timber in the City Competition student design winner) Housing America VI - Models for the expansion of the Regas Building using mass timber - MArch '25 student teams Housing America VII: Single Stair/Point Access Blocks - Triangular lots generated by the creation of Lafayette Street in Nashville, TN. Housing America VII - Public exhibit of student work. Sid Difranco explaining the scheme for housing in Victorian Village in Memphis, TN she designed with Dustin Touchet Housing America VII - Model of single stair housing along Lafayette Street in Nashville, TN by Eli Oliver and Micah Kincaid @utk_arch @utkcoad

First Friday Exhibit, December 5th – stop by North Central (the former Sear’s Department Store) for a pop-up exhibit at 1000 N. Central Street, Knoxville, TN between 5-8pm. REIMAGINING NORTH KNOXVILLE is an exhibition of models and drawings by UTK School of Architecture students. 15 proposals explore urban neighborhoods, histories, buildings, and parcels surrounding two historically significant buildings owned by Knox County. The studios are working on the 2025-2026 Community Collaborative with the East Tennessee Community Design Center and imagining future uses for the former Sear’s property (1948) and the Knox County Schools Maintenance & Operations Building (1929). We invite community stories and ideas about these places and their potential. Between 5-8pm step inside the former Sear’s for “Reimagining North Knoxville” and share ideas with students, faculty, and design center staff. Walk, bike, bus or park…and enter through the doors off the main parking lot at 1000 N. Central. If you remember the smells of the candy counter, we especially want to hear from you! @communitydc @utk_arch @utkcoad @curb.studio

More about the rediscovery of Albert Kahn project #1473 & see LINK in story. Stay tuned to see where this goes! #marginaldistricts, #albertkahn, #engagedteaching, #utk #architecture #urbandesign #preservation #adaptivereuse #knoxville /story/news/local/2025/11/17/knoxville-warehouse-is-the-work-of-famous-architect-albert-kahn/87229236007/ /university-of-tennessee-architecture-group-identifies-97-year-old-kahn-designed-structure-in-knoxville/

Our studios have been working on catalytic urban strategies in support of the future development of two North Knoxville buildings of note: the historic Sears building on Central and the Knox County Schools Maintenance and Operations building on Hall of Fame. Both are beautiful pieces of our city’s built culture, but imagine our surprise when we discovered that the M&O building is a previously unknown Albert Kahn project - one of a few in the south. #marginaldistrict #industrialarchitecture #albertkahn

Marginal urban districts tend to collect all sorts of detritus. We’ve been marveling as these beauties have been accumulating next door.

We’re excited to share that curb is named to @Forbes Best-in-State Residential Architects! Selected from over 20,000 practices, this list recognizes design that is intimately connected to its site and region – values that resonate deeply with us and many friends and colleagues selected by @Forbes . Congrats to those we share this honor with and the committed clients, builders, and consultants essential to realizing great work. Thank you to @Forbes ! For the full list see: /3xr5uyzt We share a recently completed project, Layers. An 1890’s cottage under waves of change and once home to the mason’s union is made relevant for the 21st c. – compact, functional, and adaptable. Material resources in terms of embodied energy/carbon and with respect to cultural significance drive the ethic and the design language. The renovation reinforces a dense historic neighborhood close to the city center, counteracting sprawl and supporting low-energy modes of transportation. An attached ADU with its own entry increases housing options and affordability in an area with limited availability. The project incl. vehicle charging is all-electric, surpassing 2030 benchmarks for delivered energy to existing buildings and exceeding the 2030 target for existing buildings. Builder: McNabb Modern @mcnabbmoco Millwork: @radiant.casework Engineer: Fe Design & Engineering, P.C. Landscape: @beasleylandscapearchitects Furnishing: @nouveauclassicsknox Photography: Robert Batey @rb8tey Client: Seidlers @utk_arch @utkcoad #AIAeasttennessee #AIATennessee #knoxvillecity #urbaninfill #preservation #reuse

First Friday, May 2nd – stop by the Old City for a pop-up exhibit at the McNutt Burks Building, 309 N. Central Street, Knoxville, TN between 5-8pm. AT HOME IN THE CITY! is an exhibition of models and drawings by UTK School of Architecture students. 11 proposals in 4 Tennessee cities explore urban neighborhoods, histories, and lots for small-scale infill designs. Come see how a new state regulation passed in 2024 can increase urban housing options in Tennessee cities by allowing municipalities to opt-in and permit single stair, point access block housing. We'll see you there! @yes_knox @utk_arch @utkcoad

On request after @aiatennessee conference tours - thanks for the nudge! Looking forward to sharing layers upon layers of labor and love on the website soon - including new photos by @rb8tey . Swipe to the end for reverse order and 4 of 4,000 process pics 🤣 As always, nothing to share without a dream team of designers, builders, and clients so a shout out to: @mcnabbmoco @james.l.sheffield @radiant.casework @crbouler @caitlin_o_seidler FE Design + Engineering @meili_the_chow_chow Beasley Landscape Architects

Accidental Turrell on the construction site today.

The home project is coming along. #ropeloft