From the edge of the Mississippi River to the neighborhoods of South Memphis, the city’s architecture unfolds like a narrative — and many of its most defining chapters bear the imprint of Self+Tucker Architects.
This year, the firm marked 30 years of shaping not just structures but the way Memphians and visitors experience the Bluff City. Juan Self and Jimmie Tucker’s projects remind us that architecture can be more than design. It can be memory, dignity and hope.
Self’s path to partnership began in 1989, when he came here to open the Memphis office of McKissack & McKissack. His assignment: an expansion of the National Civil Rights Museum. “My work there was both fulfilling and rewarding. I would not trade that experience for anything,” Self recalls. Yet the strain of running an office alone was clear. “Getting the work, producing the work, managing staff, clients, invoicing, was too much to sustain long term,” he says.
“Consequently, I knew that when I started a firm, it would be with a partner. Jimmie and I met at the right time on both our journeys. Jimmie has been an incredible partner for over thirty years.”
Their partnership is built on balance and respect. “Diversity of opinions, backgrounds and philosophies is a superpower when coupled with a singleness of vision,” Self says. “Where one is weak, another is strong. Respect for each other and for each other’s opinions is paramount to achieving balance. Both of us are stronger than either of us.”
For Jimmie Tucker, who returned to Memphis in 1995, founding the firm was more than a professional decision. It was a calling to shape the future of his hometown. “Each day my aspirations are to be the consummate professional, an award-winning designer, an influential mentor and teacher, and a proven leader for architecture and community revitalization,” he said.
Both managing partners, Self and Tucker’s leadership is visible in marquee projects. The $250 million FedEx Forum brought the NBA to downtown Memphis. Big River Crossing gave the city the longest public pedestrian bridge across the Mississippi. The expansion of the National Civil Rights Museum secured its global standing as a site of conscience. The Stax Museum and Academy leveraged cultural heritage to spark neighborhood revival.
Their reach, though, extends into the neighborhoods where investment is most needed. Self+Tucker has designed more than 1,700 units of affordable housing across Memphis, from College Park to Uptown Square to Cleaborn Pointe at Heritage Landing — projects that provide not only homes but also dignity and stability. This commitment underscores their belief that architecture can and should serve every community.
Still, Tucker emphasizes the importance of smaller-scale efforts. “My mantra is to ‘design like you want to change the world,’ ” he says. “It is in designing placemaking projects in some of the most neglected locations in Memphis that I believe this commitment is indeed improving the city of Memphis and the region one neighborhood at a time.”
Additionally, Self views preservation as essential to building a stronger future. “The revitalization of historic spaces is part of the DNA of our firm,” he explains. “To remember our past while looking to the future symbolizes hope. Hope for our communities, our neighborhoods, our city, our people.”
That philosophy is embodied in the Universal Life Insurance Building, which houses their firm. Self+Tucker helped restore the Egyptian Revival landmark to gain its listing on the National Register of Historic Places. “We have partnered with the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University to research and create exhibit panels for an exhibit space in the renovated building,” Tucker says. “The exhibit honors the original founders of Universal Life, Dr. J.E. Walker and A. Maceo Walker, two of Memphis’ most successful businessmen.”
Reopened in 2018, the building anchors the Memphis Heritage Trail and serves as both a reminder of African American achievement and a catalyst for future economic vitality.
Beyond projects, Self finds inspiration in mentorship. “I am truly inspired daily by the younger architects and designers on our team,” he says. “In fact, they are one of the primary reasons I’m excited to come to the office every morning. Our entire team gives me hope for the future of our profession and for the legacy of Self+Tucker Architects and for the city of Memphis.”
For Tucker, investing in people also means rethinking the role of architecture itself
“I have come to understand that making buildings is not the only nor perhaps the most effective way to improve communities,” he says. “Instead, my efforts extend well beyond individual structures to large-scale, strategic interactive plans. I work carefully with neighborhoods to research and detail the challenges they face and develop potential physical solutions and socio-economic strategies to transform those communities.”
To experience Memphis today is to see a city reshaped with the input of two men who believed design could uplift. Cross the Mississippi on Big River, walk through a museum that preserves history, or stand at the corner of a South Memphis market, and the landscape reflects the touch of Self+Tucker.
“It is my hope that STA’s work will inspire the architectural community in this region and beyond to design with empathy and community focus,” Self says. “That respect for the power of place, history and, more importantly, people will help move us towards a better Memphis and a better world.”
For 30 years their work has proven that architecture is not only about form but about belonging. In their care, Memphis’ landscape has become not just a collection of structures but a reflection of the people who call it home.
