A jury of nationally recognized practitioners—Roy Decker, AIA, Duvall Decker Architects, Jackson, Miss.; Timothy A. Dumbleton, AIA, TEN Arquitectos, New York City; and Lawrence Scarpa, AIA, Pugh+Scarpa, Santa Monica, Calif.—singled out five outstanding projects from Louisiana architects to receive AIA Louisiana Design Awards. The jury said that this year’s winners were “fantastic buildings that would win anywhere and in any competition.” In addition, AIA Louisiana bestowed its “Members’ Choice Award,” selected by a vote of the membership and given to a single project from each year’s entries.

Honor Awards

Holy Rosary Catholic Church Complex, St. Amant, La., by Trahan Architects APAC
The fundamental heart of the Holy Rosary Catholic Church Complex consists of three activities: worship, education, and administration. To support these activities, the complex’s component spaces include oratory, outdoor and indoor common spaces, classrooms, conference room, offices, and support spaces. The master plan for this rural campus creates a strong sense of place and draws a clear distinction between sacred and secular components. The oratory serves as the focal point, predominant by its unique placement and floating within the sacred precinct of a courtyard space. “The quality of light is beautiful, the concrete work is exceptional, and the plan is very sophisticated,” stated the jury. “The quality of design carries through into very imaginative details, and the play between the figural chapel and the ground created by the school is quite strong.”
Photo © Timothy Hursley.

Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum, Lafayette, La., by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
Adjacent to the original 1967 University Art Museum, this new museum building serves as a backdrop to the original replica of an antebellum plantation home and defines the edge of a new sculpture garden and plaza. The 33,000-square-foot building includes public spaces, permanent collection and changing exhibit galleries, museum offices, archival storage, and art support spaces. The building’s glass façade hovers above visitors entering the museum, reflecting in its surface the existing Hays Town Building and live oaks of the surrounding sculpture gardens. The jury said that “this thoughtfully conceived building was a project about differences—the difference between the heavy and muscular plantation house and the ephemeral and volumetric museum.”
Photo © Timothy Hursley.

Awards of Merit

Chauvin House, Hammond, La., by Holly and Smith Architects APAC
This house for a local artist and his wife responds to the Louisiana regional vernacular, harsh humid climate, and immediate farmhouse context while simultaneously providing a fresh Modern environment. The architect segmented the house into three distinct programmatic “pods”: the central main house, which houses the living, dining, kitchen, and second-floor studio loft; the master suite; and the guest suite/garage. Each pod essentially is a separate building. They are connected by transparent bridges that serve as transition spaces between changes in program. “A wonderfully developed vernacular inspired house,” exclaimed the jury, who went on to praise “the consistency in the design, the welcoming porches, and the horizontals at the columns.”
Photo © Marcus Lamkin Photography.

Whitney National Bank, Carrollton Branch, New Orleans, by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
The architects created this new one-story branch bank with drive-through banking facility for the Whitney National Bank to integrate visually the traditional character of one of New Orleans’ oldest banking institutions with today’s state-of-the-art commercial banking practices. The jury praised the “strong interiors and the light from the window, which was nicely balanced by the skylight at the interior wall.” They also liked the building’s “simple, strong façade with real street character; the play of shadows adds richness to the restrained façade.”
Photo © Alan Karchmer.

The Investment Group, Houma, La., by ROME Architecture & Interiors APAC
This 1968 classic Modern building underwent complete renovation to restore its original design character and accommodate new executive offices for The Investment Group, a global financial firm. Returning to the original open plan that combines a concrete waffle ceiling slab, perimeter glass storefronts, skylights above a center court, and rear utility zone, the new design solves several compromises in the building’s image and function that occurred during three decades of use. The jury felt this project is “simple and direct with a creative orientation in plan.” They called it “a project that carefully analyzed the existing structure and exploited all the elements found.”
Photo © Neil Alexander.

Members’ Choice Award

Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, by Lee Ledbetter Architects
There is something particularly rewarding in being recognized by one’s peers, and this project was selected as the “Members’ Choice” from among 36 Honor Award submissions by a vote of the AIA Louisiana membership. The project consists of a five-acre sculpture garden to accommodate 50 sculpture sites set among new pathways, pedestrian bridges, fences, gates, entry pavilions, site furnishings, water features, and architectural seating areas. The project also included new grading, plantings, irrigation, site lighting, security, and signage.
Photo © Richard Sexton.

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