Knoxville, Tennessee (April 30, 2025) - Momentum, a national design-build firm, joined ORNL Federal Credit Union in kicking off a branch network expansion and refresh project that will establish a new branch prototype and deliver a new ground-up flagship branch, five renovations, and a large ITM drive-thru facility in markets across Tennessee.
“The project is off to a quick start and the entire team at Momentum has been incredible to work with. The prototyping design sprint in the beginning was a new and welcomed exercise for us and we look forward to seeing our new designs take shape," said Chris Boler, Chief Member Experience Officer (CXO) at ORNL Federal Credit Union (ORNL FCU) after the four-day prototype design sprint that took place in-person at the credit union’s offices in Knoxville, Tennessee.
The goal of this exercise was to both align all project stakeholders around a common vision of project success and to uncover and build a consensus around the new branch prototype and design objectives. During this process the ORNL FCU team focused their primary goal around designing a scalable and repeatable branch prototype that enhances the member experience, improves operational workflow, and activates the credit union’s branch both inside and out.
ORNL FCU is driven by the idea that if we work together, we thrive. This came through in the requirements for openness, transparency, and trust in the prototype design, which translated to a physical manifestation of these concepts in the form of wide-open branch layouts and expansive glass features that remove visual barriers from the branch environment.
The prototype will deliver repeatability and consistently through a flexible kit-of-parts matrix and standards that translate this prototype into design guidelines for four distinct branch models. No matter where the branch is and what form it takes, it will feel like ORNL FCU.
The style and vibe will center around a warm industrial feeling that creates a welcoming atmosphere that is professional and efficient, with technology working in the background to support ORNL FCU staff in delivering incredible member experiences.
The credit union’s branch network strategy is guided by a Location Intelligence market study prepared by Momentum in partnership with Precisely. The team used an artificial intelligence model to analyze the credit union’s business goals and forecast the performance of branch network actions such as new branches, renovations, and closures across thousands of potential locations across ORNL FCU’s 19-county charter.
"Completing the market study with Momentum established a strong foundation of trust and understanding which contributed to our decision to select Momentum as our design-build partner for the next wave of expansion,” said Jenny Vipperman, President & CEO of ORNL FCU. “We are thrilled about this partnership and eagerly anticipate a successful and collaborative design-build process with Momentum.”
The Momentum Team is excited for the future of this relationship.
“Spending the week with ORNL FCU’s team was great,” said Caitlin Tallar, Senior Interior Designer at Momentum. “They were excited, engaged with the process, and very hospitable. I’m excited about all the time we’ll be spending in Tennessee.”