News

We’re excited to share a few updates from across the firm:

New Leadership: Kendall Baldwin Joins as Managing Principal

We are excited to welcome Kendall Baldwin, AIA as Managing Principal, overseeing operations across our New Orleans and New York studios. A Registered Architect with a distinguished career spanning cultural, civic, and educational work, Kendall has built a reputation for delivering complex projects while shaping the operational frameworks that enable design practices to thrive.

With experience at Grimshaw, Thomas Phifer and Partners, and WXY, Kendall brings a powerful combination of project leadership and strategic practice management. In her new role, she will guide firmwide operations, strengthening the systems, relationships, and workflows that support our teams and advance Trahan Architects’ commitment to openness, discovery, and design excellence. Reach Kendall at kbaldwin@trahanarchitects.com

Promotions: Sandra Baggerman and Stephen Breaux Elevated to Project Designer

Congratulations to Sandra Baggerman, BNA on her promotion to Project Designer after 2.5 years with Trahan Architects. Drawing on experience at MVRDV and BIG, Sandra brings a thoughtful, ecosystem-informed design approach that balances innovation, context, and craft. We look forward to her continued impact as she helps shape meaningful projects across the practice.

Congratulations to Stephen Breaux on his promotion to Project Designer after 5 years with Trahan Architects. A Louisiana native and Cal Poly graduate, Stephen brings a deep appreciation for the cultural impact of architecture and a thoughtful approach to design rooted in place, context, and community. We look forward to his continued contributions as he helps shape the future of the practice.

Brad McWhirter, who has been with Trahan Architects’ New Orleans office for 15 years, has been named Partner with the firm. We congratulate Brad on this well deserved promotion and thank him for the many contributions he has made to our firm!

A New Orleans native, Brad left the Crescent City to study architecture at the Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Graduating in 2002, he joined Trahan Architects as an intern and through the years quickly grew into a managerial role, becoming a Partner in 2017. Growing up with a father who worked in the machining and fabrication industry, Brad has a keen interest in precision — developing a trained eye for detail at a very young age. He is passionate about process and execution, and takes pride in ensuring that the end product meets and exceeds the conceptualized design.

Brad’s expertise includes a wide range of building typologies and scales of projects, designing and executing numerous sports venues, cultural spaces, event centers, hospitality spaces and office buildings to name a few. He oversaw the rebuilding of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome following its devastation by Hurricane Katrina, a $230 million dollar renovation which was designed and constructed in just 9 months, as well as the award winning Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame, widely praised for its low construction cost relative to the complexity of the architecture and materiality.