Music City Center

Hufcor was proud to be apart of the project, installing more that one mile of operable partitions throughout the facility’s 1.2 million square feet of exhibit, meeting and event space.

Located in Nashville, Tennessee, near iconic landmarks such as the Grand Ole Opry, Music City Center is an impressive $585-million dollar convention center whose interior and exterior reflects the rich music culture of the city. Hufcor was proud to be apart of the project, installing more that one mile of operable partitions throughout the facility’s 1.2 million square feet of exhibit, meeting and event space.

Case Study Details

Case Study Name: Music City Center

Location: Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Design/Build Partner: TVS Design, Tuck Hinton Architects, Moody Nolan Architects

Products Used: Operable Partitions

CHALLENGE

Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee is an architectural masterpiece—boasting bold design features, including an undulating roof to reflect the city’s profile of rolling hills, and an interior of complex curves made of wood and other materials that situate occupants inside a grand ballroom shaped like an acoustic guitar.

The challenge facing the design team was how to maintain premium acoustical separation within the 1.2 million square feet of exhibit and event space spread over four floors. For convention centers, the flexibility to accommodate various space requirements for differing simultaneous events is critical. At facilities like Music City Center, requirements can change week-to-week and day-to-day.

SOLUTION

The number of operable partitions used in the Nashville case study is impressive. More than one mile of operable partitions was installed, along with 1.25 miles of track. Sound absorption and other acoustical considerations were a critical aspect of the operable partitions, particularly in a music capital like Nashville. Every panel was tested in Hufcor’s company-owned acoustical laboratory that meets the stringent accreditation standards of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP).

The Nashville Music City Center was specified to achieve a laboratory performance of no less than 52 STC.

In determining the configuration of the panels throughout the facility, the project’s design team and the city spent several years listening to customers and potential customers describe what they valued the most in a convention center—the number one preference being flexibility. Customers want to work in spaces sized appropriately for their needs. Hufcor’s partitions easily divide and sub-divide without having to sacrifice the design of curves and fluidity inside the building.

Additionally, Hufcor engineered many special elements to ensure the panels were easy to set up and maintained acoustic separation within all of the flexible meeting spaces. Custom elements include:

Custom-designed bottom seals

Spring-loaded seals

Special vertical seals

Automatic electric tracks

RESULT

The Nashville Music City Center is the result of close collaboration among the entire project team. Functioning as the project team’s trusted flexible space partner, Hufcor was able to lend their expertise in space management to provide custom, world-class operable partitions that allow the space to serve countless different functions, provide unparalleled acoustic performance and compliment the structure’s unique design.