Centric Architecture traces its Nashville practice to 1955 through a line of predecessor firms and mergers, making it one of the oldest architecture offices in Middle Tennessee. The studio works in architecture, interior design, FF&E procurement, planning and land use, and community engagement, with a portfolio weighted toward adaptive reuse, preservation, workplace, housing and gathering spaces. Built work includes The Factory at Franklin, Stateline, the Woodmont Christian Church south expansion and the Stocking 51 silos redevelopment. The firm operates from the Buchanan Arts District in North Nashville and is led by principals Jim Thompson, Gina Emmanuel, Justin Lowe and David Plummer. Centric is part of the design team on the Tennessee State Capitol modernization and Legislative Plaza renovation.
Centric describes itself as one of the oldest architecture practices in Middle Tennessee, and the way it starts a job reflects a firm that has had time to settle on a method: listen first without bias, put visions and values on the table before solutions, generate possibilities broadly, then converge on a single clear focus. Clients should expect the first phase to be conversational rather than a drawing exercise.
The staff is roughly 26 people. Four principals — Jim Thompson, Gina Emmanuel, Justin Lowe and David Plummer — sit above three associate principals, Laura Batson, Joshua Prichard and Tara Walsh, and the rest of the roster is weighted toward licensed architects (Jess Chambers, Daley Smith, Luke Dougal, Brooke Liles, William Harvell, Jakob Mikres, Kirsten Lowe, Corey Moulton, Brent Swingle, David Scott, Maggie Bryant) with interior designers Kristian Stanford, Micah James and Danielle Johanson, several design professionals, a creative coordinator and an in-house controller. For a firm of that size, having a controller and a marketing/creative role on payroll is a sign the administrative side of a contract is handled internally.
Beyond the adaptive reuse and preservation work the firm is best known for, the portfolio is organized to include learning environments, gathering spaces and standalone planning and land-use engagements — the last of which can be commissioned without a building attached. Community engagement is listed as its own service line, which in practice means the firm will run the public-facing side of a rezoning or neighborhood process rather than leaving it to the owner.
The project record is dated on the firm’s own pages, which helps with reference checks: The Factory at Franklin is marked 2021, Stateline 2020, the Woodmont Christian Church south expansion and 6 Magnolia Circle and Mayborn both 2018, and the Stocking 51 silos 2017.
Staff retention appears to be a deliberate strategy, and it affects continuity on long projects. Centric funds professional certification, reimburses professional organization memberships and continuing education, and offers flexible schedules, generous PTO, wellness incentives, an employee sabbatical, medical, dental and vision coverage, disability and life insurance, and a 401(k) with company match. Hiring is intermittent — the careers page was showing no open roles at the time of writing.
Practical note on getting in touch: the firm publishes a phone line and a general info address but not a street number, offering a map link instead, so confirm the meeting location when you schedule.
