At our firm, we often have the privilege of partnering with other East Tennessee businesses whose values align with our own. One example is our collaborative partnership with Harper Porsche of Knoxville. Like us, the Harper Porsche team is committed to excellent craftsmanship and design — embodied in their top-of-the-line vehicles and dealership facility, as well as their outstanding service to clients.

Last year, we were proud to partner with this team to reimagine and design their 60,000 square foot Harper Collision Center, a collision repair and refinishing facility on Murdock Drive in Hardin Valley.

Now, we’re excited to be collaborating with Harper Porsche again, bringing their latest design project to life, which officially broke ground in November 2024.

The Vision:
A New Façade Reflecting Porsche’s Gen5 Design

The Harper Porsche’s team came to us with specific guidelines from Porsche Cars North America, Inc., which requires dealerships to keep up with the latest design prototype in order to participate in certain sales promotions. That’s because Porsche’s value on high-end design trickles down: their vehicles meet high luxury and quality standards, and their dealerships must, too. Consequently, Harper Porsche is preparing to upgrade their facility to the Gen5 design guidelines. Here’s a look at the upcoming process…

The Process:
A Collaborative & Complex Undertaking

This new Harper Porsche’s update will require engineering a complex, curved, illuminated metal façade — a technically-challenging design (making it all the more satisfying!). Ensuring everything comes together seamlessly will also call for immense collaboration with various building trades, vendors, and engineering teams, including Will Robinson & Associates, Haines Structural Group, Bedinger Consulting Engineers, and Vreeland Engineers.

To streamline the process, this project plans to implement a unified structural model, which simplifies coordination with the structural engineers. And because our team is used to facilitating close collaboration between the engineers and product vendors, we were able to produce the line drawing in a shortened time frame. 

The Outcome:
An Eye-Catching Dealership for Cutting-Edge Cars

On this project and the previous one completed, the Harper Porsche team has been a pleasure to work with! Everyone involved pulled in the same direction to help kick off a new dealership building design that truly embodies the Porsche slogan of “driving in its most beautiful form.”

Once this new project is wrapped up, the new façade will certainly be a design element talked about by anyone who drives by the dealership. While it isn’t necessarily “easy” to engineer, the teams and vendors coming together on this project relish the challenge, and the result is set to be a sleek, 29,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility that’s perfectly suited for Porsche’s classic, yet cutting-edge luxury vehicles.

Join an Innovative, Collaborative Team in Knoxville

Team collaboration is at the heart of every project at GAEA. Because when our architects, designers, and project managers come together, the results are nothing short of exceptional. (You can learn more about the type of results our firm creates here.)

Interested in working on a diverse range of projects with a growing architecture firm in Knoxville? We’d love to hear from you! Reach out on our site or email us at info@georgeewart.com to see if our firm is the right fit for you.