Kem Hinton, FAIA

Kem Hinton is an architect, urban designer, visual artist, historian, public speaker, and author.  He was born in Nashville and raised in nearby Murfreesboro.  Kem received the Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Tennessee (recipient of Torchbearer Award) and Master of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.  

In 1984, he joined with friend Seab Tuck to establish Tuck-Hinton Architects.  During his 35-year career, Kem was responsible for the design of educational facilities, private homes, theaters, museums, churches, parks, and memorials.  Award-winning structures designed by their firm include the Country Music Hall of Fame, Frist Art Museum, Nashville Public Square, Girl Scout Center, Woodmont Hills Church of Christ, Tennessee Aquarium IMAX Center, MTSU Sports Hall of Fame, and numerous buildings at Vanderbilt, Lipscomb, and Montgomery Bell Academy.  Kem’s most known accomplishments as lead designer are the Tennessee Bicentennial Mall, Civil Rights Room and Votes for Women Room (both in the Nashville Public Library), Tennessee World War II Memorial, and Tennessee State Library & Archives.  

After the retirement of Seab Tuck and purchase of their firm in 2019, Kem established a sole-practitioner studio.  He is a frequent lecturer on architecture, urban design, and religious structures.      

Kem is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.  He has served on the board of directors for the Downtown Nashville Rotary Club, Nashville Symphony, Tennessee Architectural Foundation, Leadership Nashville Alumni, Tennessee Academy of the Arts, and Nashville Historical Commission Foundation.  Kem received the AIA Tennessee 2019 “William Strickland Lifetime Achievement Award,” and he served on the Tennessee Historical Commission, 2019-2024.  

Author of several books, Kem’s most recent is Tennessee’s Bicentennial Mall, a 180-page hardback volume produced by Grandin Hood Publishers. 

Kem lives with wife Marilyn in their LEED Platinum Home, the first in Williamson County.  They have one grown son, T.J., PhD.  In their family, T.J. is “Dr. Son” and Kem is “Mr. Father.”