By Eric Hoke, Design Director, in collaboration with José D. González, D.B.A., Assistant Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship at the College of Business Administration at Belmont University and co-founder of Conexión Américas.

This project was created to showcase the idea of a diverse community-centered structure that would involve innovative housing solutions, an educational campus, and a food hall that would anchor an important part of Nolensville Road as a cultural epicenter. It could be called Pabellón Nolensville. This name come from the Spanish term for pavilion which is often a gathering space and shelter which has been an inspiration for this vision. As the area between the interstate and the home of Nashville Soccer Club, GEODIS Park, becomes more expensive, it will be more difficult for long time residents to live here as land values and cost of living rises.

Idea For An Urban Design Overlay

As part of this project, we are making recommendations for an urban design overlay that is specific about the preservation and expansion of cultural assests. The Nolensville Cultural Corridor Project is a proposed mile-long section of Nolensville Pike that should preserve and expand on the ethnic identity it currently embodies. This could be implemented through an urban design overlay that would specifically make recommendations on building types and uses but lean into anti-displacement strategies that seek to advance cultural diversity.

Pabellón Nolensville Potential Site

The image above shows a three-dimensional massing model that could illustrate how and where future buildings could be placed to encourage density along Nolensville and transition to the surrounding neighborhood scale. The massings indicated by the dotted white line are a site that would be interesting for the future Pabellón Nolensville building.

Pabellón Nolensville Potential Site Terrain diagram

The diagram above shows how Pabellón Nolensville could be positioned on the hill south of the rail line. The building could sit on the hill and help to create a gateway to the Cultural Corridor.

Pabellón Nolensville Components

Pabellón Nolensville is a multifaceted cultural nexus that connects three unique phases of programs together in one megastructure. Its distinctive design is centered around a food hall that seeks to be a cultural epicenter of the community. Surrounding it will be an educational campus. A variety of housing types would be available throughout the building and prioritize residents who wish to own businesses within Pabellón Nolensville.

Cultural Corridor Gateway Perspective

Looking South on Nolensville

Pabellón Nolensville could take advantage of the unusual terrain along Nolensville. The large hills could be utilized to position the architecture as a gateway to the Cultural Corridor

Nolensville Pike Perspective

Looking North on Nolensville

Pabellón Nolensville should have noteworthy architecture and be well connected to the street. This view looking north on Nolensville shows the prominent design signaling and exciting facility to the neighborhood.

Park Side & Food Hall Entrance Perspective

Looking West on Interstate Blvd S

To the south of the proposed Pabellón Nolensville site is a Metro-owned school bus Depot that could be decentralized and converted to a public plaza or park for the neighborhood. This was also where the vision shows the entrance to the food hall (directly connected to the public space).

In 2019 the Civic Design Center conducted a study that shows how Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) could decentralize the school bus depot along Interstate Blvd. As part of the Cultural Corridor overlay project, we suggest Metro rethink this location as a public park.

Above is a map from Civic Design Center showing how this main bus depot could be broken into satellite sites.

Active Alley Perspective

Looking North on Carson St

In the Cultural Corridor the 2-mile pedestrian priority loop incorporates an active ally network that is fronted with businesses, retail, and restaurants that will promote healthy and active transportation modes.

Pabellón Nolensville Food hall ToolBox

Precedent Projects

The food hall in Pabellón Nolensville could be called Sabor which is Spanish for flavor and could have the tagline “Foods Of The World.” This is an example of an idea for a logo for this section of Pabellón Nolensville.

Chattahoochee Food Works
Atlanta, GA

Located in the heart of Atlanta’s Upper Westside, Chattahoochee Food Works is the 31-vendor, 25,000 square-foot food hall featured at the center of The Works (adaptive mixed-use development in Atlanta’s Upper Westside.).

Time Out Market
Chicago, IL

In the heart of the historic Fulton Market District, spread across 50,000 square feet, the curated dining destination packs 18 eateries, three bars, a demo kitchen, a rooftop terrace, and a video-installation wall into one space.

Boxpark
London, England

BOXPARK brings communities together by providing street food, drinks, and entertainment under one roof.

The Markthal

Rotterdam, Netherlands

The Markthal (English: Market Hall) is a residential and office building with a market hall. The building was opened on October 1, 2014, by Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Besides the large market hall, the complex houses 228 apartments, almost 5000 square feet of retail space, and an underground 4-story parking garage with a capacity of 1200+ cars. The Markthal was designed by architectural firm MVRDV. The grey nature stone building has an archwise structure like a horseshoe. The building has a glass facade on both sides, these are made up of smaller glass windows. The smaller windows are mostly squared and around 1485 millimeters wide. All of these are hung around a structure of steel cables, over 110 feet high and 130 feet wide, which makes it the largest glass-window cable structure in Europe. Each facade has 26 vertical and 22 horizontal cables. The inside of the building is artwork by Arno & Iris Coenen, named Hoorn des Overvloeds (Horn of Plenty). (Source: tripadvisor.com)