© Wikimedia Commons / Jonik

The AIA recently published a reprint from the National Associates Committee journal Forward by author Wellington Reiter, FAIA. The hot topic essay goes into great detail discussing how three U.S. cities – Detroit, Phoenix, and New Orleans – are serving as examples of the impacts of adverse planning and general continuation of unsustainable behavior.  While in times past these cities have flourished, and grew on the assumption that the trend would continue inevitably, they are sharp reminders of the consequences of naivety in regards to long term sustainability. More after the break. read more »

Courtesy of ISSSStudio + PATH

Bayou-luminescence, one of ten site-specific installations commissioned by the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects, was a collaboration between Igor Siddiqui, the principal of the Austin-based design practice ISSSStudio and Matt Hutchinson, the principal of San-Francisco-based firm PATH. The project was included as a part of DesCours, the annual architecture and art event on view at various locations in city from December 2 through 11, 2011. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

Courtesy of AIA New Orleans

DesCours is a free, public, ten-night architecture and art event now in its fifth year, held December 2-December 11 in New Orleans.

This event invites internationally renowned architects and artists to create architecture installations within ‘hidden’ locations in the heart of New Orleans, including private courtyards, rooftops, abandoned buildings and walkways, all locations normally unseen, inaccessible or unused by the public.

More information on the event after the break. read more »

Courtesy of Tulane University

Fundraising is now underway for a $23.9 million green makeover of Richardson Memorial Hall, the century old home of the Tulane University School of Architecture.

The renovation will include maximizing the light and airiness of the building, installing solar panels and cisterns to collect rainwater for irrigation and, possibly, plumbing use, and many other sustainable strategies. Additionally, IBM Smart Building technology will monitor and adjust the building’s water consumption, lighting and other systems to optimize their performance while lowering the building’s carbon footprint. More information on the project after the break. read more »

Check out a preview we spotted on PublicInterestDesign of Tulane University’s School of Architecture URBANbuild program, a total collaborative effort of “individuals, organizations, and businesses committed to revitalizing New Orleans’ rich cultural and architectural heritage.” Working with Professor Byron Mouton, Make It Right and Neighborhood Housing Services of New Orleans, students have designed and built several LEED-certified homes such as URBANbuild 04 featured in the clip.  This particular residence is situated in Central City of New Orleans and completely breaks with the traditional “shotgun homes” that line the streets.  The young homeowner, Tami, appreciates the students’ talents and abilities to go beyond what the neighborhood, and even the city, is comfortable with to create a new urban identity.  Challenged by Mouton to introduce new ideas, the students have created a beautiful residence that they can certainly be proud of and one that Tami loves   View her story and a bit of the project’s journey in the video.

Courtesy of Tulane School of Architecture

Tulane School of Architecture has announced their 2011-2012 school year lecture series featuring Rafael Moneo, Billie Tsien, Adam Yarinsky and others, including a string of lectures on Urban Innovations co-sponsored by The Murphy Institute. More information on the lectures after the break. read more »

Courtesy of AIA New Orleans

Now in it’s 5th year, DesCours will be holding its annual event in New Orleans from December 2nd-December 11th, 2011. DesCours is a ten-day, contemporary architecture and art event that looks towards the future in showcasing experimental, cutting-edge new media and interactive installations while embracing New Orleans rich cultural heritage. During DesCours, internationally recognized architects, designers and artists transform unique, hidden spaces within the French Quarter and Central Business District into destination places for visitors and locals alike.

There are a total of 11-13 artists and architects (individuals and teams) that will be selected through this proposal process, which is due by August 19th at 5pm, and by invitation to participate by creating installations for French Quarter courtyards, downtown building lobbies, rooftops, walkways and other ‘hidden’ New Orleans spaces. Overall, we are seeking installations that react and respond both to the historic nature of the sites, and to the public audience that views them. More event description after the break. read more »

© Waggonner & Ball Architects

Waggonner & Ball Architects have been chosen to develop the water management strategy for Greater New Orleans.  It was announced on March 21 that they were awarded the contract from Greater New Orleans, Inc. to develop the Comprehensive, Integrated, Sustainable Water Management System for the Greater New Orleans Region which includes the east banks of Jefferson, Orleans and St. Bernard Parishes.

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Tulane University’s School of Architecture program has joined forces with IBM Intelligent Buildings Management and Johnson Controls to develop a Smarter Building pilot program.  Tulane’s first project aims to transform Richardson Memorial Hall, home of the School of Architecture, into a living laboratory.  The retrofit of this historic building will not just create a more efficiently adapted building but will also provide an opportunity for architecture students to gain a unique skill set coupled with practical experience.

Hosting the 6th Annual Green Homes and Sustainable Communities Conference, the city of New Orleans will bring together a variety of individuals from financiers and policy makers to developers and technical experts all focused on redefining affordable housing and community development. In addition to the symposium’s national focus, this year’s event will highlight some of the Gulf Coast’s most innovative green affordable housing projects. The Green Homes and Sustainable Communities Conference will be next month, July 14th and 15th, further details can be found here.

exterior

New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward represents a rather new phenomenon in American urbanism; physical tabula rasa paired with a metaphysical fabric of emotion, history, and tragedy that is no less significant than the physical emptiness. That emptiness has boldy been broken by the Make It Right foundation. Regardless of one’s opinion of their planning or design practices, the context that MIR has created in the 9th Ward has it’s own richness that is redefining the neighborhood’s physical presence while ensuring the continuity of the metaphysical through resident outreach. It is this new context that should now be respected and preserved. Unwittingly, MIR has sparked and nurtured the NOLA[modern] movement, defined by contemporary material, formal, and tectonic gestures with a thoughtful respect for regional typologies. This proposal by GOATstudio, for the DesignByMany challenge which ArchDaily sponsored, is the next entry in the soon to be expanding catalogue of NOLA[modern]. More images and description after the break. read more »

rendering

The J‐House uses a historically standard New Orleans housing lot: 30×150 feet. The original site for the J‐House is located in a designated flood zone as is common with many housing sites throughout the Southern Louisiana region. Recent FEMA studies have concluded that a vast range of New Orleans housing sites are currently 9‐feet under sea level. The original site for the J‐House is no different.

Architect: AEDS | Ammar Eloueini Digit-all Studio
Location: 918 Upperline Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Project Team: Ammar Eloueini, Jana Masset, David Merlin, Dan Kautz, Jamie Lookabaugh, Surawat Hanthawichai
Architect of Record: Wisznia A+D
Sturctural Engineer: Buro Happold New York, Craft Engineering Studio New York
Photographs: Courtesy of AEDS

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Courtesy of Gernot Riether

Every year, the AIA stages a competition for an intervention that brings to life the historic city of New Orleans. This year the institute selected a scheme by Gernot Riether that proposed a series of glowing spherical enclosures sited within the hidden courtyards of the city’s distinctive French Quarter. They would be illuminated in the evening, dramatically modulating the host environment and bringing attention to these romantic, mysterious and usually private spaces, typically located deep in the block, away from the street.

Architect: Gernot Riether
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Project Team: Gernot Riether, Valerie Bolen, Rachel Dickey, Emily Finau, Tasnouva Habib, Knox Jolly, Pei-Lin Liao, Keith Smith, April Tann
Photographs: Courtesy of Gernot Riether

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Competition board

Miami University graduate students, Brian Albrecht and Kristopher Kunkel, and their faculty adivsor, Mary Rogero, recently sent us their submission for the AIAS School of Tomorrow 2010 Competition. They chose to design for the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School that we recently featured on our site. Their proposed design seeks to accomplish two vital aspects of sustainability and design: the preservation of an iconic Modern structure that embodies the period in which it was built, and secondly adapts that structure to suit present day needs for an area with unique problems and a unique culture.

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Scheduled for demolition in Summer 2011, the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School is a treasured piece of regional modernism in New Orleans. Designed by Charles Colbert, the school has served the historic African-American neighborhood of Tremé since it opened in 1955. It is just one of over thirty public schools that were constructed at that time.  These schools were designed by architects who practiced a regional modernism, incorporating innovative design for circulation, ventilation and lighting.  Of the thirty schools only four are still standing, three of which are threatened with demolition (including Phillis Wheatley).  DOCOMOMO Louisiana is advocating for the restoration through adaptive reuse for the Phillis Wheatley Elementary School. “A Plea For Modernism” was created by Evan Mather and is narrated by actor Wendell Pierce.

exterior

Hosted by Design By Many, the Passive House for New Orleans competition challenged designers to design a single-family dwelling that is sustainable in the broadest sense of the term: affordable to build and purchase, long-lasting, with minimal impact on the local environment, and affordable to heat and cool throughout the life of the building.

The winning proposal, designed by sustainable.TO, is based on the vernacular shotgun typology. The affordable, low-energy, single-family low cost, low energy house will help to revitalize the existing neighborhood of the Lower Ninth Ward. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

sustainable.TO

DesignByMany and media partner ArchDaily are pleased to announce the “Low Cost, Low Energy House” by sustainable.TO as the winning design for the Passive House for New Orleans competition.  The competition challenged both students and professionals to design a passive house for New Orleans focusing on key components of The Passive House Standard and the 2030 Challenge which has influenced the Better Buildings Initiative issued by President Obama.

More on the results of this competition after the break.

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In preparation for this year’s 2011 AIA National Convention our Architecture City Guide is headed to the Big Easy. For the attendees, next weekend, the New Orleans AIA chapter has prepared an architecture city guide with 250 buildings worth seeing. Therefore our meager list of 12 hardly covers the wonderful buildings to visit. Lets us know your favorites that are not on our list in the comment section below.

The Architecture City Guide: New Orleans list and corresponding map after the break

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© Timothy Hursley

The AIA New Orleans welcomed a record number of entries for the 2011 Design Awards, 100 Years of Excellence in Design.  The categories included Interior Architecture, Master Planning, Divine Detail, Project, Architecture, Adaptive Reuse, and Juror Favorite.  A complete list of the 2011 AIA New Orleans Design Awards and jurors comments following the break.

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© Jeff Johnston

The architecture firm studioWTA renovated this existing space in an historic building into an art gallery. The primary concern in the design was to highlight historic elements, while providing a clean, crisp surface on which to display artwork.

Architect: studioWTA
Location: 432 and 434 Julia Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
Project Area: 1,800 sqf
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Jeff Johnston

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