DAVID BAIRD- Partner
Architect, NCARB, LEED-AP

David has spent almost four decades practicing architecture.  He has directed teams of Designers, Engineers and other Experts on a wide variety of projects, 15 years on the East and West coasts, and in Nashville since 1994. He was the designer and team leader for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Vanderbilt’s Martha Ingram Center for the Performing Arts, and the Cumberland Heights Master Plan.

David earned his Architecture Degree from the University of Tennessee where he was awarded the Chancellor’s Citation for Extraordinary Promise.  After graduation, he worked as a designer with the international firm of Architect Kevin Roche (1982 Pritzker Prize winner), on museums and corporate headquarters such as the Metropolitan Museum of New York, Continental Oil, Union Carbide Headquarters, Cummins Engines & General Foods.

David’s contemporary lighting designs have won national and international awards, have sold worldwide, and have been exhibited in the US, Italy, France and Japan. David’s hand drawn lighting designs are in the permanent collection of the Cooper Hewitt National Museum of Design/Smithsonian Institute. He has taught and lectured on Architecture and Interior Design at various universities in Tennessee and California.

David is LEED accredited by the U.S. Green Building Council for Sustainable Design. And he is accredited by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.

David studied Real Estate Finance and Development through the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Realtors.  He participated in the creation of the “Plan of Nashville”.

MARCELLE GUILBEAU- Partner
Interior Designer, LEED-AP

Marcelle Guilbeau has spent over two decades practicing interior design.  She has created interiors for top Corporate, Civic, Healthcare and Residential Clients in Nashville and throughout the United States.  Marcelle’s key projects include American General Financial Services, Sky Ridge Medical Center, The Justice A. A. Birch Court House and Parkwood Community Center.

Marcelle’s designs for luxury healing environments have been featured twice in Healthcare Design Magazine.  Two projects, the Justice A. A. Birch Courthouse and the Parkwood Recreation Center, for which she contributed interior design, have been celebrated as proud and invigorating architectural contributions to the Nashville community.

Marcelle studied Philosophy, Religion and Art History in the U.S., England, and Italy, before going into Interior Design.  She uses her creative background to help her clients identify their personal style and needs.  She creates customized interior spaces that work for her clients, and which express their values and tastes.

Marcelle is a native of Lafayette, Louisiana.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy and Art History from Colorado College, a Master’s Degree in Religious Studies from Vanderbilt University, and an Interior Design Degree from Watkins College of Art and Design.  After graduation, she spent eight years at one of the largest architecture firms in the country, designing a wide variety of Commercial, Healthcare and Government projects.

In addition to being a Partner in Building Ideas, Marcelle has her own Interior Design firm:
Marcelle Guilbeau Interior Design