About ESa

We’re a nationally recognized architecture firm located in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee.

ESa provides design services in architecture, interior architecture, master planning, and space planning.

Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
The Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Belmont University, Nashville, TN

Serving clients in commercial, community + arts, education, healthcare, hospitality, residential and senior living.

Founded in 1961 and located in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, we celebrate our past and look toward the future by creating environments across the country that shape lives. With more than 13,500 projects completed and 80 percent of our business from repeat clients, we listen and respond with creative solutions to design projects that inspire, sustain and improve the communities we serve. People and relationships are our greatest resources, and our service is our greatest commodity.

We are passionate about promoting wellness in our design and our corporate culture. More recently, we have signed the AIA 2030 Commitment, an actionable climate strategy that gives us a set of standards and goals for reaching net zero emissions in the built environment.

Anna Shaw Children’s Institute
Anna Shaw Children’s Institute, Dalton, GA
Anna Shaw Children’s Institute

Guiding Principles

1. Listen First

Amazing things happen in architecture when open and ongoing communication takes place. And the best ideas—the creative, long-lasting, practical ones—come only after listening first. By closely partnering with our clients, we make sure that the people most impacted by the building are the ones who live and work in it.

2. Problems Have Solutions

Problems are simply disguised possibilities. We thrive on solving them with ingenuity, humility, and experience, aided by the tools of research, benchmarking, evidenced-based design, and expanding technology.

3. Look Forward

We are proud of our past, but our eye is on the future. With a holistic approach that celebrates both form and function, we create healthy spaces that improve the quality of life for those inside while protecting the world outside.

TSU Health Sciences Building
Tennessee State University, Health Sciences Building, Nashville, TN

Our Legacy

Sustainability. Human-centered design. Environments shape lives. Improve quality of life. These were integral beliefs of not only the man, but of the architect – Earl Swensson. Swensson designed spaces for people to live, create and thrive. From residential and senior living to hospitals and medical office buildings to hotels and offices, the tenets of Earl Swensson that were adopted by his work “family” live on today and will continue into the future.

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Earl Swensson

“The most beautiful architecture is designed with a deep understanding and respect for people.”

Step inside our office space

Watch the short video to hear the story behind the design
Gulch Crossing Main Lobby
Main Lobby, Gulch Crossing

The Gulch Crossing office building, which attained LEED Gold Certification, includes eight stories of Class A office space, totaling over 200,000 rentable square feet. The highly efficient building core and virtually column-free space offers a maximum of rentable-space per floor and floor-to-ceiling glass that provides unobstructed views of downtown. The facility also includes a 750-space, six-level structured parking garage located above and below grade, and over 16,000 square feet of ground floor retail space.