bjarke ingels unveils tennessee arts center with billowing facade

a landmark for ‘music city’ planned by bjarke ingels

Plans for the Nashville’s upcoming Tennessee Performing Arts Center have been unveiled by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Located on the city’s East Bank, it will shape a 307,000-square-foot theater and arts complex along the Cumberland River and will act as a link between downtown and the city’s next phase of growth. The building will sit at the end of Broadway, facing the skyline and drawing attention across the water.

The facade forms a continuous, lifted profile. Aluminum tubes bend in broad arcs, catching light and giving the volume a shifting surface. Bjarke Ingels describes it as ‘an urban and cultural connection,’ tying together east and west, old and new, and the disciplines inside.

images © Bjarke Ingels Group

a permeable edge and public ground for nashville, tennessee

The team at Bjarke Ingels Group designs the facade of Nashville’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center to lift at ground level. This peeling strategy creates deep openings that work as entrances and covered thresholds. People approach from multiple directions, guided by paths and planting along the river and surrounding streets.

Lead architect Bjarke Ingels notes the project is ‘designed to be welcoming on all sides.’ The tubes tilt from vertical to horizontal, forming canopies and softening the edge. Entry begins at different elevations, including from the bridge above, and continues directly into the interior.

BIG’s Tennessee Performing Arts Center will sit along the Cumberland River in Nashville

a cascading interior landscape

The lobby is organized by Bjarke Ingels Group as a stepped volume among the urban fabric of Nashville rather than a single hall. Stairs and balconies connect the venues, allowing audiences to move across levels and share the same space before and after performances.

Wood surfaces and layered lighting offset the metallic exterior. Overhead, a patterned ceiling adds depth. Ingels describes the lobby as ‘a cascading public space for the daily life of the neighborhood.’

a continuous aluminum facade forms a lifted silhouette that shifts with light throughout the day

four venues within a single envelope

At the center, four venues are grouped tightly: the Grand Broadway theater, a dance and opera hall, a flexible black box, and a cabaret space. Shared back-of-house functions support each while maintaining distinct spatial and acoustic conditions.

The main theater focuses on proximity, with seating that wraps the stage. The black box allows for reconfiguration, while the cabaret introduces a more informal setting.

openings in the facade create shaded entrances that welcome visitors from multiple directions

a facade tuned to light and movement

The aluminum tubes act as both enclosure and filter, adjusting density and angle to control light and views. Ingels compares them to ‘organ pipes or steel chimes,’ a reference that aligns with the city’s musical identity.

From a distance, the building reads as a continuous surface. Up close, the repetition of elements breaks it into a finer scale, with shadows shifting across the facade.

Bjarke Ingels calls it ‘a flowing public pavilion in the park.’ The project supports performance, rehearsal, and education while also functioning as a place to pass through and gather, linking the experience of performance to the city beyond.

the facade of aluminum tubes filters light and frames views