Franklin, Tennessee
Dr. Allen Blourchain
With a restricted building area, the designers of the Armana Office Building in Franklin decided on a curved front to take advantage of every inch of usable space. Carden’s challenge was constructing that graceful curve on a reasonable budget.
When Dr. Blourchian, DDS., decided to build a home for his New Image Dentistry office in the Cool Springs area, he envisioned his dental spa as the lead tenant in a building with additional office and retail areas. But the chosen site posed problems for the amount of square footage he wanted.
Chris Alexander of Innovations Group, LLC, architect for the building, explained, “The challenge for the building was that it’s a relatively small site and a relatively small building area due to setbacks on four sides of the property. The shape of the building was actually a derivative of the maximum area that could be built on.”
The end result is a building with imposing height – and that elegant curve – which “all comes from using every inch that could be built on,” said Alexander.
If the designers main challenge was to create maximum impact on minimum space, Carden’s primary challenge was to build it on the doctor’s budget.
Greg Page, who served as the owner’s representative for the Armana Office Building, noted that some of the necessary building techniques were unusual for this kind of project. “For instance, typically, you would not find red-iron steel with a bent frame on this size building,” he said.
“So there were some serious dynamics in terms of coordination to keep it all within budget,” added Page. “And I believe the architect and the contractor did a great job in coordinating those issues.”
After a year of consultations with the owner, owner’s representative, and designers, Carden Company was able to deliver a very complex building at a price the doctor could afford.
“I would recommend them – and twice on Sundays,” said Page. “My only comment – or concern for them – is that they run kind of under the radar. I think more people need to know about Carden.”