AllianceBernstein Nashville HQ

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

A strategic relocation from New York to Nashville, AB’s new headquarters channels the city’s creative energy into a workplace that sets people, culture, and business in motion.

Location

Nashville, TN

Client

AllianceBernstein (AB)

Expertise

Financial Services Wellness Build to Suit & Headquarters

Opportunity

A consequential headquarters move demanded more than a new address: AB needed a workplace that could anchor culture, attract talent, and accelerate connection.

AB’s relocation from New York to Nashville marked a defining moment for the firm. Its new headquarters had to welcome a growing workforce, project confidence to clients, and remain unmistakably connected to the global brand. Yet distributing the program across eight high-rise floors introduced a fundamental risk: distance could dilute culture and divide teams. The opportunity was to turn vertical scale into an advantage, creating a workplace that united focused financial work, high-touch client engagement, and Nashville’s unmistakable creative pulse.

Why This Matters

01
A Future Worth Following
A headquarters relocation is a promise about the future. The workplace had to make that promise tangible—credible to clients, compelling to new talent, and energizing for employees.
02
One Vertical Community
Without deliberate connections, large, vertical workplaces can feel fragmented. Shared destinations, visible movement, and recurring design cues help transform stacked floors into one coherent cultural ecosystem.
03
Wellness in the Everyday
AB’s headquarters creates space for daily well-being routines with an eight-story internal stair encouraging movement, strategically located cafés offering choice and connection, and sit-stand workstations supporting comfort.

FPO Quote

Solution

Making movement the organizing principle, anchored by a continuous feature stair, the design unifies eight floors into one connected headquarters and elevates the client experience through hospitality-driven design.

Feature stairs stitch the headquarters together, connecting each floor to destination cafés and informal collaboration zones that reward movement. Around this vertical spine, an open workplace brings people closer to daylight and views, while focus, huddle, and video-ready rooms provide privacy and choice. Higher in the stack, the 24th floor sky lobby reimagines corporate arrival as an adaptable hospitality experience with breathtaking views of the city of Nashville and the Cumberland River. Local influence drives the design with industrial elements complemented by bold colors and tinted glass.

A defining move that reimagines the role of a headquarters, the AB office brings people together, encourages well-being, and reflects the spirit of Nashville.

Achieving Fitwel 3-Star Certification for impact on occupant health, feedback shows increased stair use, stronger cross-team interaction, and high satisfaction with wellness features and de-sign.

What Changed Because of This

01
Connected Culture
Feature stairs, cafés, and shared destinations turn cir-culation into a social experience, making movement between floors a catalyst for connection, visibility, and collaboration.
02
Healthier Rhythms
Design cues and workplace policies make movement, nutritious food, ergonomic choice, and restorative support more visible, intuitive, and accessible throughout the workday.
03
Local Resonance
Local artwork, custom typography, industrial references, and digital storytelling give AB a headquarters rooted in Nashville without compromising the clarity of its global identity.

Recognition

01

The Tennesseean

Gensler’s Christopher Goggin quoted on the importance of amenities and experiences that foster collaboration and culture to attract people back to the office.

02

The Tennessean

Highlights the contemporary architecture that’s remaking downtown Nashville and introducing experience-driven destinations at the ground level.

Team

Project Leadership

[FPO] Thomas Krizmanic

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Laurent Lisimachio

Laurent is a Design Director and Principal whose global perspective and retail roots shape inventive workplaces and destinations across financial services, media, technology, fashion, beauty, hospitality, and retail.

[FPO] Jessica Beck

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FAQ

01

Where is AllianceBernstein’s Headquarters?

In 2022, AllianceBernstein moved their headquarters from New York City to Nashville, Tennessee.

02

Why did AllianceBernstein move to Nashville?

AllianceBernstein relocated its headquarters to Nashville to reduce operational costs and provide employees with a higher quality of life. They evaluated over 30 cities and ultimately selected Nashville for its rapid growth, strong talent pool from local universities, and booming business environment.

03

Who designed the AllianceBernstein Nashville headquarters?

Gensler designed the workplace and led its brand and digital experience design. The headquarters occupies 501 Commerce at Fifth + Broadway, a commercial office building also designed by Gensler.

04

Is AllianceBernstein Nashville FitWel certified?

The headquarters earned Fitwel 3-Star Certification, demonstrating how design, operations, and workplace policies can work together to support well-being.

Related Work

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AllianceBernstein at Hudson Yards

AllianceBernstein’s technology-forward workplace at Hudson Yards brings employees and clients together through hospitality, wellness, flexibility, and an ever-evolving expression of innovation.

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JPMorganChase Tower

Designed as a gift to employees, JPMorganChase’s new global headquarters in New York City redefines the future of work through connection, flexibility, and human-centric design.

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Investment Firm at Rockefeller Center

This private equity outfit found a new home through an imaginative relocation strategy that led them to a purposeful, greenery-filled headquarters that priortizes wellness.

Related Expertise

Financial Services Wellness Build To Suit & Headquarters

A strategic relocation from New York to Nashville, AB’s new headquarters channels the city’s creative energy into a workplace that sets people, culture, and business in motion.

A consequential headquarters move demanded more than a new address: AB needed a workplace that could anchor culture, attract talent, and accelerate connection.

Why This Matters

Making movement the organizing principle, anchored by a continuous feature stair, the design unifies eight floors into one connected headquarters and elevates the client experience through hospitality-driven design.

A defining move that reimagines the role of a headquarters, the AB office brings people together, encourages well-being, and reflects the spirit of Nashville.

What Changed Because of This