The New Sprankle Building was built by Knoxville developer Benjamin Sprankle in 1927. During the 1930’s the building became the headquarters for the newly founded Tennessee Valley Authority and the building received a major addition in the 1960’s. During the building boom surrounding the World’s Fair in 1982 the building was converted into a hotel and renamed The Pembroke. The building is now home to a number of owner occupied residential spaces just a short walk from Knoxville’s Market Square.
This loft renovation project began as a 3-bedroom unit in the Pembroke Building. The unit consisted of a number of small, inefficient, and unwelcoming rooms organized around expansive glass openings with spectacular views of downtown Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains in the distance beyond. Our design team used the existing openings as a guide for the reorganization of the plan. Public spaces were oriented along large south facing windows, creating a large open space while bedrooms and support spaces were oriented towards smaller, more private windows along the east and west facades. The more generous and connected living, dining, and kitchen spaces were appointed with natural materials including soft Carrara marble, rift cut white oak and white lacquer cabinets that capture, reflect, and amplify the varying qualities of natural light entering the space throughout the day.