Ramsey Solutions Headquarters – Franklin
Gresham Smith were engaged by financial consulting company, Ramsey Solutions, to complete the first phase for their headquarters campus located in Franklin, Tennessee.
Due to their tremendous growth, Ramsey Solutions, founded by personal money-management expert, best-selling author and radio personality Dave Ramsey, enlisted Gresham Smith to develop a multi-phased campus master plan comprising 600,000 square feet of office space and a 50,000-square-foot conference center to be located in the Berry Farms development of Williamson County.
The first phase of the master plan encompasses a new 204,000-square-foot, six-story corporate headquarters and a 15,000-square-foot employee/customer lobby connector that will consolidate the company’s dispersed offices into a singular location. We set out to create an inspired new headquarters for Ramsey Solutions that provides maximum flexibility for both current and future growth and allows departments to expand as needed. More than 1,000 team members will work from this larger, more accommodating office space.
The new headquarters’ design features two broadcast studios, one of which is used exclusively for “The Dave Ramsey Show” as well as a Studio B for The Ken Coleman Show, The Chris Hogan Show and other programming. We’ve also created a green room and viewing areas for guests that will allow audience members to participate in the show. In addition, there are new studios for Ramsey’s growing library of video and audio shows, podcasts and webinars.
A key challenge for our design team was creating a large communal space for all-hands meetings that could seat 1,000 people and be reconfigured for dining space during the lunch hour. Our team worked together to create a large two-story space that meets this requirement while also functioning as the main entrance for both Ramsey Solutions’ team members on Level 1 and radio show visitors and guests on Level 2.
We interviewed Ramsey Solutions’ team members from every department to garner a clear understanding of how they worked, the challenges they were experiencing with their current workspace, and the changes they would like to see in their future workspace. Based on this vital feedback, our team developed an open floor plan that features access to daylight, open workstations that can accommodate more than 1,000 employees, and numerous indoor and outdoor spaces for team gatherings, lunches and devotionals.
To provide the extra space needed for these important guest amenities, the design situates the bookstore and café inside a second-floor connector and directly behind the main reception desk, placing them front and center as visitors enter the building.
The new Ramsey Solutions headquarters not only facilitates collaboration, growth and flexibility, but also serves as a new home office for a message of hope that embraces the company DNA for all users of the building—from team members and corporate clients to Fortune 500 companies, church groups and fans alike.
Design of Phase 2 of the project, which includes another office building totally approximately 192,000 square feet, is now underway. Future phases include additional office space and a 50,000-square-foot conference center.
Design: Gresham Smith
Contractor: Solomon Builders
Photography: Brian C. Robbins
