In partnership with UT’s Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management, we are repurposing the existing UT Creamery and Culinary Institute space which resides in a 1900s home on the edge of Seqouyah Hills neigborhood.

THE SETUP: We are working in teams of 2-3 to pitch finalized design concepts to Directors and Donors for this building to become a reality for students, partners, and global connections. We have no restrictions other than integrating the programs, technologies, and ideas within the existing footprint.

THE DESIGN: My partner and I are looking at the connection between two different worlds (customer vs. partner) in a gateway that connects them through entries, corner conditions, or individualized organicism. The urban environment is directing our placement of such things, as we begin from the exterior and dive further interior. Our take on adaptive reuse also involves the material distinction between old vs. new, and our proposed buildout of new corten steel stands visibly against the existing red brick. Redesigned roofing systems and skylights allow the natural environment to flood into the retail side where customers can feel revitalized, and a double-height classroom and lab side allows partners to feel evoked in the scalar process as a whole.