The Top 15 Eco-Friendly Sustainable Buildings in Tennessee

Images courtesy of Seth Parker on sethparker.net, Artech Design Group, R.G. Anderson, and Nashville Public Library.

A new wave of sustainable construction is emerging in Tennessee, a state known for its rolling hills and natural beauty.

From modern homes to offices, architects are designing these structures to meet the highest sustainability standards. As a result, there are many eco-friendly sustainable buildings in Tennessee, which I’d like to share with you in this article.

A sustainable building has a minimal environmental impact throughout its lifecycle. Such buildings are on the rise in Tennessee and conserve energy, water, and natural resources while minimizing the industry’s 50% contribution to climate change.

In the rest of this article, I’ll showcase the top 15 eco-friendly sustainable buildings in Tennessee. I’ll cover what makes each building sustainable to help you get ideas for your next green building project. Keep reading!

1. Music City Center

Located in Nashville, Music City Center is one of the top eco-friendly sustainable buildings in Tennessee due to its energy and water efficiency initiatives.

It’s a stellar example of sustainability thanks to its unique design that reduces energy consumption by 20 percent. Its LEED Gold certification evidences its sustainability initiatives.

The building’s main sustainability features include:

• Solar energy: It has 845 solar panels generating over 343,000 kWh of electricity annually, reducing the building’s dependence on the national grid.
• Energy conservation: It incorporates vertical shading and energy-efficient windows that reduce the sun’s heat impact on interior temperatures. Moreover, it uses LED light fixtures and photo sensors to minimize lighting energy consumption.
• Green roof: It provides additional insulation by shielding the indoors against extreme temperatures. Also, it reduces the urban heat island effect.
• Water efficiency: The center has a 360,000-gallon (1,400,000-liter) cistern that collects, filters, and redistributes stormwater to toilets and irrigation systems. Its toilets and faucets use low-flow plumbing fixtures to conserve more water. These features reduce the center’s municipal water use by 51%.
• Waste reduction: Besides composting food scraps, it donates surplus food to organizations like the Nashville Rescue Mission.

2. The University of Tennessee Chattanooga Library

The University of Tennessee Chattanooga Library was opened in 2015 and is a LEED Silver-certified building. It got certified due to its sustainability initiatives like site development, energy, and water efficiency.

The library is designed to maximize daylighting through skylights and ample glass windows. These features allow the penetration of sufficient natural light during the day, reducing dependence on artificial lighting.

The building is also water-efficient. It has low-flow plumbing fixtures, faucets, and toilets. These features help reduce water consumption.

Moreover, the 180,000-square-foot (16,700-square-meter) facility has a stormwater collection and retention system. The harvested rainwater is filtered and used in irrigation, lowering the library’s demand for municipal water.

Other features that make this library more sustainable include:

• Material: It was built with locally sourced materials to minimize its carbon footprint due to transportation emissions.
• Energy efficiency: The building has smart lighting controls that turn the lights on and off depending on occupancy and the intensity of natural light.
• Carbon footprint reduction: The library uses virtual computers to reduce its carbon footprint.

3. McCabe Park Community Center

Located in Nashville, this is one of the top eco-friendly sustainable buildings in Tennessee designed to reduce its environmental impact.

The 25,000-square-foot (2,300-square-meter) building became LEED Silver-certified for New Constructions in 2012 owing to its green building initiatives.

It was built with no to low-VOC materials for better indoor air quality. Moreover, most of these materials contain recycled content to conserve natural resources.

Regarding energy efficiency, the building incorporates efficient HVAC systems that use less electricity. It also uses LED lights to conserve more energy.

Other key sustainability features include:

• Low-flow plumbing fixtures for indoor water conservation.
• Bio-retention and bioswales for stormwater retention and treatment.
• A green roof for added insulation against heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.
• Indigenous landscaping plants to minimize water consumption through irrigation.
• Porus concrete paving along the drives to reduce the heat island effect and slow down stormwater runoff.

4. Goodlettsville Public Library Building

This is a 16,000-square-foot (1,500-square-meter) LEED Silver-certified library in Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

The library’s LEED Silver certification evidences its commitment to environmental and natural resource conservation.

The facility’s three rainwater gardens minimize runoff by capturing and retaining stormwater. This prevents runoff that would otherwise cause erosion and pollution of the nearby streams and rivers.

Moreover, it has a bicycle storage facility and changing rooms. These promote cycling as an alternative transport mode to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles powered by fossil fuels.

It also has electric car charging stations to promote the use of EVs.

The library incorporates a green roof with native plants for additional insulation. The insulation helps conserve electricity by lowering the demand for central heating in winter and cooling in summer.

Other features that make this library sustainable include:

• Water-efficient landscaping practices like drip irrigation and native plants.
• Low-flow plumbing fixtures for water conservation.
• A considerable amount of construction waste was recycled to conserve landfill void space.
• Increased ventilation for indoor air quality.

5. Bretske Hall

Located in Chattanooga, Brestske Hall is among the top eco-friendly sustainable buildings in Tennessee for its numerous green building features.

The 7,045-square-foot (655-square-meter) hall is LEED Silver-certified under the v2009 New Construction category. It was certified in 2013 with a scorecard of 55 points.

The hall has ample operable windows on its north wall to facilitate daylighting. These windows can be opened and closed when needed to facilitate ventilation.

The building’s proximity to public transport services like a bus rapid transit and rail station promotes the use of public transportation among its employees. Using these services reduces the number of personal cars on roads, minimizing carbon oxide emissions.

Other sustainability features of this hall include:

• Water efficiency: It has water-saving toilets that output 1.6 gallons (6 liters) of water per flush. Its faucets and showerheads output 2.2 and 2.5 gallons (8 and 9.5 liters) of water per minute, respectively.
• Energy efficiency: The hall’s ample windows facilitate daylighting to conserve energy. It also has an energy-efficient HVAC system.
• Green power: The hall’s management buys alternative green energy from TVA. This reduces its dependence on mains electricity and, ultimately, lowers its carbon footprint.
• Indoor air quality: Low-emitting materials like coatings, paints, sealants, adhesives, flooring systems, and composite wood were used. These enhance the hall’s indoor air quality and the well-being of its occupants.

6. Hillsboro High School

Since its establishment in the mid-1950s in Nashville, Hillsboro High School has maintained its position as one of the most eco-friendly projects in Tennessee. Moreover, it’s one of the largest Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS).

Its proximity to WeGo Public Transit facilitates public transportation to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, it has a Goodwill drop-off center where students are dropped off for efficient movement to and from the school. Therefore, parents don’t have to use personal cars to take their children to school.

Hillsboro High School was renovated with seven efficient bioretention ponds for stormwater management. These ponds can handle approximately 40,000 cubic feet (299,000 gallons) of water, reducing surface runoff and the possibility of floods.

The school’s other sustainability features include:

• Water-efficiency: It uses water-saving fixtures in toilets, showers, faucets, and kitchens. These fixtures have made it possible to save 30% of water.
• Waste recycling: The school uses the neighboring recycling facility to divert its waste from landfills through recycling.
• Daylighting: Over 90 percent of classroom spaces have direct views to the outside to facilitate daylighting for energy conservation.
• Efficient mechanical system: The school’s mechanical system is 32% more energy-efficient.

7. The Bridge Building

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, The Bridge Building is LEED Platinum-certified and the world’s highest-rated building within the Core and Shell category, with a score of 99/110, making it among the greenest buildings globally.

The 21,500-square-foot (1,997-square-meter) 6-story building has some of the most sustainable construction features you can find anywhere.

Its east side resembles a barge hull to reduce glare and heat gain from the sun. This reduces the cooling load, especially in summer.

Additionally, the facility’s location near public transportation services facilitates public transport, minimizing carbon emissions from vehicles. It also has parking for low-emitting and fuel-efficient vehicles.

During the building’s renovation, 92% of construction and demolition waste was recycled to conserve landfills.

The project’s other sustainability features include:

• A geo-exchange HVAC system.
• A solar hot water system.
• Water-saving plumbing fixtures.
• Environmentally friendly landscaping featuring native trees and grass.

8. Harpeth Square Apartments

Located in Franklin, Harpeth Square Apartments are among the most eco-friendly sustainable buildings in Tennessee due to their sustainable site location and energy conservation initiatives.

The project’s location was chosen due to its proximity to essential places in Franklin. It’s close to banks, restaurants, and markets for easy commuting without the need for vehicles.

During construction, the team chose native and drought-resistant plants for landscaping to reduce the demand for irrigation and save water.

Harpeth Square Apartments have water-saving fixtures that reduce indoor water consumption. They also use a water-efficient drip irrigation system.

Other sustainable features include:

• Energy efficiency: R-26 wall insulation to conserve energy by reducing the demand for central heating and cooling. It also uses LED lamps and ENERGY STAR-rated appliances.
• Material sourcing: The materials used for the construction were sourced within a 500-mile (805-km) radius of the apartments. This reduced transportation carbon emissions.
• Eco-friendly materials: Construction materials contain between 35% and 95% recycled materials, diverting waste from landfills. Moreover, 67% of construction waste was recycled into new products.
• Indoor environmental quality: The apartments contain low-VOC paints and flooring. Additionally, they have MERV 8 filters that supply continuous fresh air to all rooms.

9. Warren College Hall

Warren College Hall is in Nashville and is one of the top eco-friendly sustainable buildings in Tennessee.

It’s one of Vanderbilt University’s LEED-certified buildings due to its numerous sustainability features.

Warren College Hall is also the largest certified multi-unit student residence hall in Tennessee.

The hall was designed to be highly energy-efficient. Over 90% of its regularly occupied spaces have a direct line of sight to the outdoors. This maximizes daylighting, eliminating the need for artificial lighting during the day.

Moreover, the materials used in its construction contained 24.62 percent recycled content. Besides diverting waste from landfills, using recycled materials helps conserve natural resources.

Other eco-friendly construction features include:

• About 38% of construction materials were locally-sourced, reducing transportation carbon emissions.
• The projected diverted 83% of construction waste from landfills through recycling.
• Low-mercury lamps containing 30.59 mercury content per lumen hour.
• Eco-friendly landscaping, like drip irrigation, led to a 59% reduction in outdoor water consumption.

10. Chef James Bistro

This is a 2,000-square-foot (186 -square-meter) LEED-certified building in Nashville, Tennessee. It was LEED-certified in 2009 under the LEED for Commercial Interiors category.

One of its sustainable construction features is sourcing construction materials locally. Most materials were sourced within the project’s 500-mile (805-km) radius, reducing carbon dioxide emissions due to transportation.

The construction team paid close attention to the facility’s indoor air quality. As such, they used low-VOC-emitting materials to promote indoor health and well-being.

Moreover, the team prioritized materials with recycled content. Using recycled construction materials is an excellent way to divert waste from landfills and conserve natural resources.

Finally, the facility incorporates energy-efficient kitchen and lighting utilities. Besides using LED lighting fixtures, all kitchen appliances are Energy-Star rated and highly energy-efficient.

11. Lendlease Nashville Office

Located at 1201 Demonbreun Street, the Lendlease Nashville Office portrays some of the most eco-friendly features and designs.

It’s WELL Silver-certified by the International WELL Building Institute.

Besides environmentally-conscious construction, the office was designed to promote employee health and well-being through a quality indoor environment. It was designed to meet volatile organic compounds standards for indoor environments.

Additionally, the office has natural finishes and plants promoting connectivity with nature. Connection with nature reduces stress, enhancing well-being.

Most occupied interior sections were designed to have a direct line of sight to the outdoors. This maximizes daylighting, eliminating the need for artificial lighting during the day to conserve energy.

12. The Pinnacle at Symphony Place

The Pinnacle at Symphony Place was the first skyscraper in Tennessee to achieve LEED certification.

The 500,431-square-foot (46,492-square-meter) 29-story building was LEED Gold-certified under the Core & Shell category in 2011.

The skyscraper has a green roof that plays a vital role in energy conservation. The roof provides additional insulation that prevents heat loss in winter and solar heat gain in summer. This reduces the demand for central heating in winter and cooling in summer.

Additionally, the facility is landscaped with native plants adapted to Tennessee’s climate. Therefore, they conserve potable water by minimizing the need for constant irrigation.

Also, the native plants used for landscaping prevent surface runoff by absorbing rainwater.

Other green building features include:

• Recycling over 90% of onsite construction debris diverted 2,948 tons (2,674,381 kg) of waste from landfills.
• High-efficiency irrigation systems and native plants reduce irrigation water demand by 50%.
• Over 90% of occupied spaces have direct access to outdoor views, maximizing daylighting.
• Onsite parking is 100% under cover to reduce the heat island effect and roof temperatures.

13. Ameriplex at Elm Hill

This was the first LEED-certified multi-tenant industrial facility in Tennessee. It’s owned by Nashville’s Holladay Properties.

The building was designed to be highly energy and water-efficient. It also promotes indoor air quality for tenants through eco-friendly, low-VOC materials.

Its sustainability features lower tenancy occupancy costs while conserving natural resources. These features include:

• A reflective roof: It prevents solar heat gain during the day, reducing the cooling load to save energy.
• Day-lighting: The units have been designed to maximize daylighting through direct access to outdoor views. Therefore, they reduce the demand for artificial lighting during the day.
• Stormwater harvesting: It has a rainwater harvesting system that filters the water, making it safe for irrigation.

14. Stambaugh House

Stambaugh House is a LEED Gold-certified building in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a residential hall for Vanderbilt University students.

The house was built with sustainability in mind. From the ground up, Stambaugh House incorporates features that reduce pollution while making it water and energy-efficient.

During its construction, 52% of the waste generated was diverted from landfills by being recycled into other products. Moreover, 50% of the materials used in its construction were sourced within a 500-mile (805-km) radius to reduce transportation carbon emissions.

Stambaugh House has light-colored concrete, native trees, and reflective roofing to reduce the urban heat island effect for a more comfortable indoor environment.

Other sustainable features include:

• Sustainable building materials like bamboo flooring.
• Waterfree and low-flow fixtures to reduce potable water consumption.
• Permeable pavement for efficient rainwater percolation helps to reduce runoff.
• Low VOC paints, sealants, carpets, and adhesives.

15. David Williams II Recreation and Wellness Center

This is LEED Silver-certified center in Nashville, Tennessee. It earned the certification in 2014 after being renovated to make it more eco-friendly.

The center makes use of natural lighting through the south and north-facing window walls to lower the demand for artificial lighting, especially during the day.

It also uses energy-efficient LED bulbs and high bay fieldhouse lighting to supplement the natural light sustainably.

The center was retrofitted with modern air conditioning units that recirculate conditioned air instead of using all exterior air. This approach is highly energy-efficient, adding to the center’s sustainability efforts.

Finally, particular attention was paid to indoor environmental quality to promote the health and well-being of its occupants. To achieve this, it used low-emitting paints, adhesives, and flooring.

Final Thoughts On Sustainable Buildings in Tennessee

This list of the top 15 eco-friendly sustainable buildings in Tennessee showcases the state’s advancement in environmentally conscious construction.

These buildings incorporate features that enhance their sustainability through waste reduction, water, and energy efficiency. You can incorporate such technologies in your next project to make it more sustainable.