Brian     Michael     Kaitlyn     Kristen     Tyler     Crystal     David

All of us at Allard Ward Architects wish you the happiest of holidays and a great New Year!

President Obama visited Nashville last Tuesday, December 9th, to hold a meeting regarding his recent actions on immigration reform. We were pleased that Casa Azafran, a recently completed AWA project, was selected as the site of the town hall meeting. Renata Soto, the extremely dedicated and talented Executive Director of Conexion Americas, introduced the President.

You can watch both her introduction and the President's speech HERE.

Metro Nashville Public Schools also announced a Federal grant of $17.5 million to the state to expand Pre-K services. This will add 400 seats in the Nashville area. Earlier this year, AWA announced the ribbon cutting of the newest Pre-K at Casa Azafran. That center is now being used as a model for new centers in the area. Watch the Channel 5 Report HERE

Andrew Jackson: Born for a Storm - a new exhibit at the Hermitage that focuses on the controversial life of the President, opens January 8th.

Brian Haun in our office worked closely with Tony Guzzi at the Hermitage to transform the existing space and prepare for the new exhibit.  AWA is not a stranger to the historic site. In 2005, restoration work was completed at the First Hermitage as part of the Save America's Treasures Initiative. And in 2011, restoration of the Cabin by the Springs was completed. If you are in our office, check out the model of President Jackson's cabin!

Admission to the new exhibit is FREE on Thursday, January 8th.

Starting with this edition of Headlines, we will be featuring a member of our staff and hope it will help you get to know us! We'll kick it off with our newest member...

Kristen Newton
Project Manager

- Originally from Orange Park, FL. Moved to Nashville from Austin, TX.

- Graduated from University of Florida, summa cum laude with a degree in Design from the School of Architecture. Also earned her Master's from the University of Texas at Austin.

- She has worked in large-scale commercial, residential, high-end commercial, and retail.

- Kristen is married to her husband, Cole, and has two dogs: Roscoe, a black lab, and Annie, a blue heeler rescue.  

Check out her full bio HERE

• What did you want to be when you grew up?
  
  A psychiatrist, an architect, or a fashion designer; all of which I pursued but settled on the one that I thought I would be most happy doing on a day-to-day basis.
   
• What is your favorite thing about being an architect?
  
  For me it has always been about problem solving, getting to take something that most people would look at in only one way and be able to give them a whole new perspective.
   
• If you could design any type of building, what would you design?
  

  A “tree house” cabin in the swamp. It was something my dad and I have always talked about and I would love to build one with him one day.

• What are some of your hobbies outside of the office?
  
  Gardening, biking, fishing and restoring our 1980 Chevy Silverado.

• If you had to eat the same thing for breakfast for the rest of your life, what would it be?
  
  True Texas breakfast tacos, you can’t beat the homemade tortillas and fresh salsa. Fresh eggs make it perfect.

• What is your idea of a perfect evening in Nashville?
  
  I’m new to town but a perfect evening usually consists of a good drink and a fire in the backyard with my husband and dogs listening to some good music on the radio.

Welcome Kristen! You are a great addition to our team.