Anecdote Architectural Experiences

08/24/2026

08/24/2026

We’re incredibly grateful to have been part of the Kirksey Old Main project at MTSU and to have had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the history of the university and its early campus life.

The ribbon cutting for Kirksey Old Main was a particularly meaningful milestone. We were honored to hear from university leaders and members of the Kirksey family who shared personal stories, reflections, and historical context that brought the building’s legacy to life.

Originally known as the Administration Building, Kirksey Old Main was the original academic building on campus, where so much of the university’s early activity took place. Hearing stories about the building, the people who shaped MTSU, and the role Kirksey Old Main played in the university’s beginnings added an incredibly personal dimension to the history we were honored to help preserve.

This is a project and a story we’ll remember for a long time.

We’re grateful to the State of Tennessee and MTSU for trusting Anecdote with the opportunity to help honor and carry forward this important piece of the university’s history.

04/08/2026

Today marks 25 years since the Frist Art Museum first opened its doors, and what an incredible journey it has been.

The Frist Art Museum stands as both a preservation of a Nashville treasure and the creation of a new cultural landmark. Nashville’s historic 1934 Main Post Office was thoughtfully transformed into a vibrant home for art, honoring the strength and beauty of the white marble Art Deco icon while reimagining it as a flexible, world-class museum capable of welcoming exhibitions from across the globe.

The renovation celebrated the building’s historic character while introducing innovative new spaces designed for discovery and connection. The restored and expanded Art Deco lobby became a grand circulation hall, illuminated by a clerestory above and framed by dramatic stairways linking two levels of newly created galleries. Surrounding improvements established a welcoming urban entrance and improved access, while additions such as a café and outdoor sculpture courtyard invited visitors to linger and engage in new ways.

Throughout the project, salvaged materials and restored details seamlessly bridged past and present, ensuring the building’s legacy would continue to inspire future generations.

Twenty-five years later, the Frist remains a cornerstone of Nashville’s cultural life, and this milestone celebrates not only its remarkable history, but the creativity, community, and artistic experiences still to come.

04/01/2026

This has been a great project to be a part of, discovering stories about MTSU's original buildings, ranging from past graduates and faculty, old photos and the things 'found' during demolition and renovation, 'stories' that make the buildings richer.

10/09/2025

On August 10th, Anecdote joined Franklin Road Academy to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the new two story Upper School. The project consists of a 32,000 sq. ft. two story building and the 38,000 sq. ft. Bracken Green, which together anchor the school’s 62 acre campus. This paired intervention reorients campus movement, establishes a true civic heart, and delivers programmatic breadth—humanities classrooms, a Panther Den, a digital media and broadcast studio, a Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, and the Bradshaw Commons—framed to support learning, community, and long term stewardship.

This work strengthens Franklin Road Academy’s campus fabric by knitting academic, artistic, and social life into a coherent, adaptable center. Thoughtful material choices such as mass timber and regionally sourced red brick create a warm, durable palette that resonates with local context. Research informed spatial organization and landscape integration produce places that support learning, invite daily connection, and scale with future pedagogical innovation. Realized through a shared vision, the Upper School and Bracken Green are designed to serve FRA’s community for generations.

Project Team:
Franklin Road Academy
Collected Civil Engineering
LaBella Associates
EMC Structural Engineers, P.C
I.C. Thomasson Associates
Brasfield & Gorrie
Photography by: Fisher Studios

10/08/2025

08/15/2025

The Adventure Science Center celebrated the grand opening of their new Education Center this week. The design transformed old storage room into a space for updated classrooms.

“STEM careers are the future for everyone, whether its construction, architect, healthcare, geology, animal care. All of those rely on stem literacy, so it is truly a common ground where everybody understands the importance of being scientifically literate in order to be a part of the workforce and to understand the world around them better” stated Adventure Science Center's President and CEO Leah Melber.

Read more here: https://www.wsmv.com/2025/08/13/adventure-science-center-unveils-new-education-center/

The center transformed a room that was previously used for storage into new, state-of-the-art classrooms.

08/11/2025

We’re delighted to see our vision come to life as Franklin Road Academy Upper School officially opens its doors. It’s an incredible feeling to witness the space being enjoyed by the community we designed it for.

"The proposed Upper School Building is a facility that will reflect the quality of the work being done inside and is intended to provide a collaborative educational facility to enhance the education of the Academy’s 9-12 grade students enrolled at the school. The scope of the proposed design includes the creation of a new two-level Upper School facility with new exterior connectors between the proposed building and existing Middle School, as well as the Math & Sciences Building."

08/08/2025

We are thrilled to announce that Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee was awarded a Merit Award last night at the AIA Tennessee Design Awards.

"The new office building is made up of loadbearing CLT exterior walls and floors & glulam columns and beams. The system’s sustainable attributes supported The Foundation’s mission- to be good stewards of the environment just as they are with the community. Mass timber’s embodied carbon is drastically lower than concrete and steel construction; it is also fabricated off site, reducing emissions at the project site. The exposed wood contributes to biophilic design benefits, helping in enhancing the psychological and physical wellbeing of the building inhabitants."

Photography by: Andrew Keithly

07/03/2025

We are thrilled to see the progress being made on this exciting project at Columbia State. Congrats to the project team on all the hard work.

https://mainstreetmediatn.com/articles/mainstreetmaury/columbia-state-tops-out-technology-center-building/

Workers laid the last metal beam in the frame of Columbia State Community College's new Southern Regional Technology Center (SRTC), built by Hoar Construction and designed by Anecdote Architectural Experiences. The beam was topped last week with an American flag and a fir tree, symbolic of hope and....