DOGAN GAITHER FLATS, 2023

Knoxville, TN

The Dogan-Gaither Motor Court, a former motel with deep roots in Knoxville’s Black business history, was adaptively reused as permanent supportive housing for parolees. Forced to the current site from its original downtown location by midcentury urban renewal, the historic motel was listed in a 1959 travel guide for Black travelers, akin to the Green Book. The design team carefully studied and adaptively reconstructed the historic structure, updating for sustainability, creating new gathering spaces, and landscaping. Work crews from the Morgan County Correctional Facility were employed during construction.

Today, Dogan-Gaither Flats’ 16 dual-occupancy one-bedroom apartments provide housing, counseling, work placement, and transitional skills training to males returning from incarceration. Here, architecture plays a key role in the redemptive story of its inhabitants.

The motel before and after renovation

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Photography: Keith Isaacs
Project Team: John Sanders, Aaron Pennington, Cameron Bolin, Tyler Sanford, Lindsay Clark
www.sanderspace.com