BarberMcMurry architects | |
---|---|
Key architects | Chuck Griffin, AIA, NCARB (President) Kelly Headden, AIA (Senior Vice President) Mike Dooley, AIA (Vice President) Chad Boetger, AIA, LEED AP (Vice President, Director of Design) Ronald Bomers, AIA (Senior Partner) Robert Parrott, FAIA (Senior Partner) David Wooley, FAIA (Senior Partner) |
Founded | 1915 |
Location | Knoxville, Tennessee |
Buildings | Candoro Marble Works showroom (1923), General Building (1926), Holston Hills Country Club (1927), Knoxville YMCA (1928), Church Street United Methodist Church (1931), Great Smoky Mountains National Park headquarters (1940), Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center (1956), Rokeby Condominiums (1976), East Tennessee History Center (1985), John J. Duncan Federal Building (1988), Smokies Park (2000), LeConte Medical Center (2010), King Family Sevier County Library (2011), University of Tennessee Medical Center - Cancer Institute (2012), BarberMcMurry Offices - The Arnstein Building (2013), University of Tennessee Natalie L. Haslam Music Building (2013), Rocky Top Sports World (2014), Hicks Orthodontic Clinic (2014), Webb School Haslam Gymnasium (2014), Contemporary Women's Health Center (2015), University of Tennessee Student Union - Phase 1 (2015), University of Tennessee Joint Institute for Advanced Materials (2015), Knox County Forensic Center (2015), East Tennessee Children's Hospital (2016), Sacred Heart Cathedral (2017) |
Awards | 1976 AIA Gulf States Honor Award for Design Excellence (Rokeby Condominiums), 2004 ASID Design Awards (East Tennessee Children's Hospital), 2010 AIA Gulf States Design Award (Pellissippi State - Magnolia Campus) |
BarberMcMurry, formerly Barber & McMurry, is an architecture firm based in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Founded in 1915 by Charles Irving Barber (1887–1962) and Benjamin Franklin McMurry, Sr. (1885–1969), the firm designed dozens of notable houses, churches, schools, and public facilities in Knoxville and the surrounding region in the early 20th century, several of which have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In recent decades, the firm has expanded its focus to include larger-scale projects, such as hospitals, stadiums and retail complexes.
BarberMcMurry is rooted in the successful mail-order design business established in Knoxville in 1888 by Charles Barber's father, George Franklin Barber (1854–1915), best known for his elaborate Victorian mansions. Both Charles Barber and Benjamin McMurry studied at the University of Pennsylvania under Paul Cret, whose Beaux-Arts influence characterized much of the firm's early work. By the time of Barber's death in 1962, the firm had designed some of Knoxville most elegant houses, many of which still stand in West Knoxville, as well as over 50 churches, and government buildings such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park headquarters.
The firm's more recent work includes the East Tennessee History Center (1985), the John J. Duncan Federal Building (1988), Smokies Park (2000), the Niswonger Performing Arts Center (2004), and the LeConte Medical Center (2010). Current projects include the Sentinel Tower and the University of Tennessee Music Center.
George Franklin Barber moved to Knoxville from his native DeKalb, Illinois, in 1888, bringing along his wife, Laura, and infant son, Charles. While in DeKalb, George had begun working as an architect for his brother's construction company, and published his first design catalog, The Cottage Souvenir. In Knoxville, he expanded his catalog business, and over the subsequent two decades sold upwards of 20,000 house plans worldwide. Several dozen George Barber houses still stand in Knoxville alone, including a house at 1635 Washington Avenue where the Barbers lived in the early 1890s.