Preservation Awards Spotlight Beauty of Homes, Buildings

The awards brought about 150 admirers of architecture to the Main Library to celebrate the beauty of 27 structures in the categories of commercial, educational/institutional, infill and residential.

Besides the primary categories, the Battle of Nashville Preservation Society Commissioners' Award and the Achievement Award were given. Fort Negley received the Commissioners' Award for its display of Nashville's role in the Civil War. Architect Michael Emrick received the Achievement Award for his 35 years of work in Nashville.

Brian Tibbs, one of the judges, said there was not a specific list of qualitiesthat garnered a win.

"We just went around and looked at every nomination," he said. "We compared it to other structures in the neighborhood to see what worked well … did it fit in."

Most winners and nominations were historical buildings that were considered because of the restoration of the original. The category of infill included contemporary homes and buildings that were built to reflect historical architecture.

Menie' Bell is on the Historical Commission's board of commissioners. She said that even people who are not familiar with architecture can appreciate preservation of historical homes.

"It's just good for regular homeowners to become aware of how historical value relates to us," she said. "The homes connect us from the past to the future."

Ann Roberts, executive director of the Historical Commission, said connecting to the structural designs of the past has become increasingly popular since the 1960s.

She said the greatest benefit of preserving buildings is making them useful without demolishing them. The historical homes also are affordable and versatile compared with new homes.

Although Kevin Kidd did not buy a historical home, he admired such homes so much he had his award-winning home built to reflect the historical homes in his neighborhood.

Contractor Alan Looney of Castle Construction helped build Kidd's home. He was proud that his work won the Preservation Award in the infill category.

"We wanted to design a house that looked like it was built in the 1920s," he said. "We tried to achieve that." Kevin Coffey of Burke Coffey Architecture Design Inc. designed the home in the English Tudor style with a high-pitched roof, half timbering and mostly natural materials. He said it was a treat to be honored and see other younger architects recognized.

Tara Mielnik, coordinator of the event, said this year's ceremony was one the most successful because of the high quality of the nominations.