When Scott Wilson was a child, he loved tinkering with model cars and airplanes. And when the kits came with extra parts, he compiled those to build his own iterations of different models. “I was sitting in my room one day creating models when my mom walked in, looked at me and said, ‘You’d make a great architect,’” Scott shares. “I said, ‘What’s that?’”
Little did he know, his mom had planted a seed that would flourish into a lifelong career in architecture. With a father in the military, Scott traveled around the country during his early childhood, including a stint in Smyrna. They would eventually settle in Middle Tennessee, their favorite location of all the assignments.
As a senior at Franklin High School, he enrolled in a drafting class at a local vocational school, then went on to earn his degree at the University of Tennessee. While in school, he joined a Nashville-based architecture firm, and ultimately, would branch-off on his own, moonlighting for home builders in the area.
Today, Scott Wilson Architects is responsible for the stunning design of many homes and historic businesses around Franklin, a full-circle moment building up the town that built his career.
“Gallery 202, originally known as Clouston Hall, was a project we did the restoration on,” Scott says. “It’s really interesting because we had a Christmas open house with the prior owner, and Ed Nash brought in a bunch of artwork. It was amazing, and we all commented that this would make a great art gallery.”
The gallery owned by Kelly Atwood accomplishes just that, filling the reimagined historic space with beautiful, locally curated artwork. “We thought there could not be a better use for the building than that,” Scott says. “We were tickled to see that transpire.”
The team also worked on a former dentist office behind the courthouse in Downtown Franklin, using a unique material to keep the new addition in line with the historic look of the existing property. “We felt that was the most appropriate thing to do for that building,” Scott says. “We had a little jewel box and we didn’t want to double the size and change the character of it. We had a lot of fun with that one.”
While these are two of the more prominent historic projects Scott’s team has had a hand in, there are thoughtful touches in homes and buildings all around town. In any historic project, however, the driving force is to preserve the character of both the building and the owner. “We have those conversations with our clients: why do you want to restore this?,” he says. “There’s usually an emotional tie to it. We try to get away from the architecture and really get to know the person’s story.”
This is the driving reason why no two projects will look alike if you flip through the Scott Wilson Architects portfolio.
“The analogy I use a lot is if you could hire someone to paint your portrait, you hire them because you like the style they do, but you want them to capture your personality,” Scott says. “We look at designing a building much the same way. Our clients hire us because they like our work, but they don’t want something abstract, they want something that reflects who they are.”
While architecture is Scott’s bread and butter, he describes himself as “hobby heavy.” Not only is he an avid racquetball player (who has even medaled at a national level), but he enjoys trail riding with his horse, snowboarding, scuba diving, and fly fishing.
Together with his wife, Donna, they have six kids and nine grandchildren that keep them well occupied.
“We have clients that want to meet on weekends and I have to tell them no,” Scott laughs. “Somebody’s got a birthday or somebody’s coming over. We’re having a good time.”
Between the birthdays and ball games, Donna and Scott also just purchased a 10-acre blackberry farm outside of Nolensville, with plans to someday open it to the community.
The biggest of all of Scott’s hobbies is rooted in his faith — he’s been involved with children’s homes, an urban ministry called Cottage Cove that teaches inner city children life skills, and a faith-based business leadership group called Truth in Business. Here, community leaders gather to connect with faith at the forefront.
Scott spent more than a decade on the Board of Directors for the Historic Carter House in Franklin, including a term as president where he helped secure things like moving the Boys and Girls Club to its current location, and allowed the site at Columbia Avenue and Fowlkes Lane to be restored. He also oversaw the demolition of the gym at Franklin High School’s former location on the Carter House property. ScottWilsonArchitect.com