Government/Public Building Award of Merit: Tennessee State Library and Archives
This stunning five-story repository for Tennessee’s collection of books and public/historic records replaces the oldest archives building in the nation and includes three stories dedicated to the library and archives, one level of below-grade parking and a single-story mechanical penthouse.
Located within Nashville’s Bicentennial Park, the facility features a grand reading room, a library for the blind and physically disabled, exhibit space as well as classroom and teaching space. The building also features an automated storage and retrieval system. Usually located on the ground level or recessed into the ground, the system was instead constructed on the second level of the library.