James Steinkamp Photography

200 4th Avenue South

Located in the heart of Nashville’s SoBro District, 200 4th Avenue South is a 30-story commercial building comprising 523,000 SF of offices and retail, and serving as a new international headquarters for a major global organization.
The all-glass expression of the building presents a clean and sleek composition, with individual planes of glass extending beyond the building and roof line. In a clever riff on its location in Music City, U.S.A., these four distinct planes of glass are designed to be reminiscent of pages of sheet music, creating a uniquely identifiable presence on the Nashville skyline.
The ground floor lobby opens transparently to the street, activating the Southeast corner of the Park and creating a welcoming environment for tenants and visitors, while also providing an additional 8,000 SF for retail and restaurant tenants.
A structured slab setback within the building enclosure allows for vertical connectivity between floors, enabling greater collaboration between
floors and departments, while creating unique double-height spaces and vertical circulation with compelling views and natural light. Amenities include large outdoor terraces at both city and sky levels, with the potential for indoor and outdoor collaboration areas overlooking Music City Walk of Fame Park and the downtown skyline, and upper balcony locations with views overlooking downtown Nashville and the Cumberland River.
At night, the building comes alive with dynamic LED illumination that can exemplify brand standards, support community events, or mark holidays and celebrations – a fitting complement to downtown Nashville’s thriving nightlife, concerts, and sporting events.
200 4th Avenue South opened in September 2017 and is targeting LEED Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council.

Design Challenge

The primary challenge for 200 4th Avenue South was to establish an urban headquarters building that successfully transitioned 1,700 employees from suburban locations into a single, vertically-integrated solution that enhanced connectivity and collaboration while establishing a connection to the city. Recognizing the amenity of the city, the building is organized to enhance visual and physical access to the streetscape, parks, and range of dining and entertainment options easily walkable from the unique urban location. Vehicular traffic is accommodated in a vertically-integrated parking structure that choreographs employee arrival into a ground floor lobby that extends the full length of the building along 4th Avenue. The transparency of the ground level lobby provides a welcoming environment for employees and visitors with an experiential lobby program promoting the company’s history, vision, and mission. The enhanced transparency of the ground level further activates the Southeast corner of the park, and animates the streetscape with accommodation for special programming and events. The eighteen dedicated office floors link to the ground level lobby through a destination dispatch elevator solution, supplemented by direct stair linkages between each floor. Each of the eighteen dedicated floors features a “workplace hub” that promotes connectivity and interaction through employee-focused amenities, including among them a full-scale market, eateries, touchdown spaces, and a putting green. A structured slab setback within the building enclosure allows for vertical connectivity between floors, enabling greater collaboration between floors and departments while creating unique double-height spaces and vertical interaction options. The direct stair linkages between floors occur in these zones at the perimeter of the workplace hub, and are generous in width, scale, and detailing to promote usage and wellness. Located along the curtain wall with views to the park, daylight is introduced into each office floor while strengthening the overall city connection. This unique vertical circulation component registers on the exterior of the building, and is especially animated with activity illuminated in the evening. A typical office floor provides all desking systems with access to natural light, and places the private offices near the building’s interior core. Desk space was intentionally scaled back to provide more open collaboration and technology-rich meeting space for all employees. Across the eighteen office floors, the spaces are arranged to be flexible, modular, and universally sound with the ability for employees to “plug and play” as they desire. The unique setbacks at the ends of the building are utilized for special meeting and gathering spaces that offer differing perspectives on the city. Linkage to substantial amenity spaces on the 14th and 15th floors promotes community and gathering by featuring a full-service market, café, and all-day working spaces. In addition to housing the fitness center, the 14th floor also has a dynamic, double-height space providing access to the building’s outdoor terrace. This floor features fixed spaces for larger convocations, and is positioned alongside an integrated tech hub with flexible furniture and high-top bars for working privately, convening socially, or holding impromptu meetings.

Physical Context

A transformative new tower located in Nashville’s SoBro district, 200 4th Avenue South is located at the intersection of Demonbreun Street and 4th Avenue South, at the heart of the city’s thriving office, entertainment, and arts district. Located alongside Bridgestone Arena and the Country Music Hall of Fame, the 30-story, 523,000-square-foot building gracefully opens to the Music City Walk of Fame Park and the Nashville Music Garden. The ground floor lobby opens transparently to the street, activating the Southeast corner of the Park and creating a welcoming environment for tenants and visitors, while also providing an additional 8,000 SF for retail and restaurant tenants. The all-glass expression of the building presents a clean and sleek composition, with individual planes of glass extending beyond the building and roof line. In a clever riff on its location in Music City, U.S.A., these four distinct planes of glass are designed to be reminiscent of pages of sheet music, creating a uniquely identifiable presence on the skyline. The tower also features outdoor terraces at both “city” and “sky” levels, overlooking Music City Walk of Fame Park and the downtown skyline, and upper balcony locations with views overlooking downtown Nashville and the Cumberland River. At night, the building comes alive with dynamic LED illumination that can exemplify brand standards, support unique community events, or mark celebratory moments—a fitting complement to downtown Nashville’s thriving nightlife, concerts, and sporting events.