Beyond the Glass Door: The Best Architects' Offices are Designed from the Inside out (Practice‪)‬

When Ken, Hinton, FAIA, and Seab Tuck, FAIA, decided to design new offices for their staff of 15, they wanted something out of the ordinary. So the owners of Tuck Hinton Architects, Nashville, Tenn., bought the Civil War-era Elm Street Methodist Church and transformed the interior with such cool touches as a studio in the tall sanctuary, candelabras for nighttime lighting, and, in the vestibule, a Louis Kahn quote that reads "Architecture must have the religion of light." The message fits the firm and the old church. "Since we work diligently to have natural illumination in our buildings, that quote is sort of sacred to us," says Hinton. Like clients who want to make a personal statement with their houses, upwardly mobile architects are doing everything their budget will allow to create signature work spaces. Ideally, the offices become a life-size marketing piece that says something about a firm's creativity and most deeply held values. Given its historic landmark status in the community, Hinton says his divinely inspired building has become a terrific marketing tool.