Work Wrapped on Spacious New Nashville High School
By Eric Althoff
NASHVILLE—HASTINGS Architecture has designed the first new ground-up school for the Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) in two decades, James Lawson High School. Hastings worked with general contractor Messer Construction Company on the 310,000-square-foot school, where 1,600 students will be educated.
The materials palette for James Lawson includes concrete, wood, brick and terrazzo. The building materials are meant to reflect the limestone bluffs near the Tennessee capital city. The entries for each of the grade levels take advantage of the site’s natural slope, with the doors placed at different heights along the hill. Among the school’s sustainable elements are solar shades, a rainwater-capture system and green roofs.
The Commons serves as a main gateway into the campus, offering tall views from the outside directly into the James Lawson library, which also contains two grand staircases on both sides of the library. The staircases, also viewable from the exterior, lead up to the third-floor cafeteria. HASTINGS imagined this space as a place where the socialization of the indoors and outdoors meld together in one.
In addition to Messer, HASTINGS’s partners on the project included landscape architect HDLA, civil engineer Civil Site Design Group, MEP engineer EMC Structural Engineers, acoustic consultants Merok & Hill and theater consultant Schuler Shook.
In an email sent to School Construction News, HASTINGS Associate Principal Samuel Wible said that his firm’s design effectively connects students and faculty with their educational environment. The abundant natural light brings out the intuitive design of the school’s floor plan and encourages “fluid movement” from one area to another—as well as spontaneous interactions.
“The goal was to create a space that could yield tangible benefits, including heightened academic performance, enhanced student well-being, and a palpable sense of community,” Wible said. “Our design promotes a culture where student behavior and academic endeavors are readily observable and celebrated. It not only enhances visibility throughout the premises but also optimizes the efficiency of staff supervision.”
Wilbe added that HASTINGS deliberately streamlined circulation pathways to avoid pedestrian congestion chokepoints. The designers were able to short-circuit this issue by minimizing the number of doorways in each hallway.
“The James Lawson High School is designed to adapt to many needs, specifically to fit into the changing demands of the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools community,” he said. “This is a school that has five academies within it: culinary, engineering, health sciences, business and hospitality. Since the school is connected to grades at all levels, it is easy to facilitate connections and for events to happen simultaneously, enhancing the school’s role as a vibrant nexus of learning and community interaction.”
HASTINGS, which is based in Nashville, was founded in 1985.