Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the City Hall Design topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Design firm shows three exterior options for Nicholasville City Hall; commissioners favor traditional look with prominent signage
Summary
Design firm Brandcenter presented exterior design options for the proposed Nicholasville City Hall (over 31,000 sq ft). Commissioners favored designs with windows on the stair tower, a traditional brick or buff-brick finish (options A or B), and prominent city identity signage; option C was generally rejected.
A design team presented three main exterior concepts for the proposed Nicholasville City Hall on Feb. 24, showing color, material and massing options and inviting commissioner feedback.
Monica Summer of Brandcenter, with project manager Ben Whitmer, displayed a 3D model and floor plans for the three-story, roughly 31,000-square-foot building. Designers said the public meeting room would be a one-story portion with a taller ceiling fronting Main Street; the building includes a basement and interior stair tower. The team showed multiple brick and stone palettes and suggested a vertical panel on the front could host a backlit city logo.
Commissioners generally preferred the more traditional brick or buff-brick options (identified in the presentation as options A and B), and several said they wanted windows in the stair tower rather than a blank brick wall. Commissioners asked staff and the designers to explore shades and variations of brick and to "show a logo" on the vertical panel while removing the top row of glass where necessary to accommodate signage. One commissioner said option C looked like an "addition" and multiple participants said they would "x out C." Designers said they had already pared dozens of concepts down to a short list and will return with refined brick color choices and storefront glass treatments.
Designers and commissioners also discussed storm-shelter considerations: staff clarified the building would not meet formal storm-shelter criteria in the stair tower area and that any sheltering function would be located in the basement. Commissioners encouraged a design that integrates the public meeting room with the rest of the façade so it would not appear to be an afterthought.
The presentation produced no formal votes; staff said designers will revise options and return to the commission with refined color samples and signage locations.
