News

The United States Department of State and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel have revealed Trahan Architects’ design of the USA Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai, Japan. Serving as a cultural outpost for the United States, the USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 celebrates the best of contemporary American architecture, innovation, culture, and industry.

The USA Pavilion invites visitors to be immersed in a vibrant experience of the United States, featuring panoramic views of the country, and exhibitions that explore sustainability, space exploration, education, and entrepreneurship.

Read the official press release from the U.S. Department of State here.

Trahan Architects—in collaboration with ES Global, Alchemy International, and BRC Imagination Arts—has been selected by the U.S. Department of State to realize the USA Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.

Founded in New Orleans, Louisiana, Trahan Architects has designed spaces for leading cultural institutions across the United States for more than 30 years. The Pavilion in Osaka will be the firm’s first project in Japan.

“Architecture has the power to connect, heal and transform our world,” said Trey Trahan, FAIA, Founder and CEO of Trahan Architects. “Representing the United States at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka is an honor—we look forward to working with the Department of State and our collaborators to share the best of American ingenuity on the world stage.”

Trahan Architects and BRC Imagination Arts will lead the architecture and exhibition design of the pavilion. ES Global will oversee the delivery of the project, with project management by Alchemy International.

Read the official press release from the U.S. Department of State here.

Trahan Architects is proud to share its shortlisted design for the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts competition. The re-imagined STLC expresses the physical and metaphoric concept of weaving—connecting people and places in a shared meaning and vision of a world that celebrates all. Weaving has always played a significant role in cultures worldwide, including the diversity of Indigenous nations and people throughout Canada. The cultural practice of weaving is creatively expressed and represented in the physical manifestation of forms and patterns—from the facades of Haudenosaunee longhouses and Anishinaabe ash baskets. More profoundly, the process of weaving calls to the spiritual, cultural, and social practices of sharing stories—interlacing the knowledge of the skies, land, and waters from one generation to the next.

Trahan Architects is one of five teams shortlisted for the re-imagined STLC. Collaborators on the proposed design include Hood Design Studio, Brook McIlroy, ERA Architects Inc., Bruce Mau Design, Entuitive, Transsolar KlimaEngineering, Crossey Engineering Ltd., Threshold Acoustics, and Fisher Dachs Associates.

Read more about the design competition here.

Trahan Architects announced today that CEO Trahan and firm partner Brad McWhirter are to appear in the new season of the Smithsonian Channel series “How Did They Build That?” The episode features the Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame in Natchitoches, LA.

“Across the globe, radical architects, ingenious engineers and skilled builders are creating structures so outrageous, they defy logic…often even gravity,” said the Smithsonian Channel. The host, Jay Ellis, was the recipient of the NAACP Image Award.

Read full Press Release here

Trahan Architects announced that it has hired Brian Richter as the digital visualization leader and “Vincent” Yee Foo Lai as a designer in its New York City Studio.

Richter said, “Trahan Architects’ ambition, philosophy and extraordinary portfolio have always resonated with me from afar. I had the opportunity to listen to a lecture given by Trey and I immediately connected with the work. I am grateful for the opportunity to join Trahan Architects and share my research and experience in architecture, design and digital methodologies.”

Lai said, “I am attracted to the phenomenological quality and calmness in all Trahan Architects’ projects. All the spaces created by Trahan elevate our sensibilities to the place and time, encouraging contemplation in our built environment which is increasingly in the state of flux. I am excited to join this talented team to grow and continue to build the amazing Trahan brand.”

Read full Press Release here

Trahan Architects has promoted several integral staff members in both its New Orleans and its New York City studios. The internal promotions include Oana Bunea-Velea as Technical Director; Sean David as Senior Project Manager; Ciarán Conlon as Senior Design Architect; Travis Lombardi as Senior Project Designer; Andrew “Drew” Hutcheson as Senior Project Designer; Kyle Culver as Senior Project Designer; and Gabriela Calzada as Designer.

Read full Press Release here

Paúl loves discovering simple, elegant solutions to complex design challenges. A licensed architect in New York State with 19 years of professional experience, he combines wide-ranging technical expertise with a collaborative leadership approach that listens and responds to input from clients, consultants and contractors alike. He has worked with clients across cultural, academic, commercial, and government sectors domestically and abroad. Paúl contributed to the design of several award-winning projects, including the Marshall Family Performing Arts Center for the Greenhill School outside Dallas, Texas; the Brookfield Place Entry Pavilion opposite the WTC site in New York, NY; the LEED Gold Steinberg Visitor Center for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, NY; and a multi-building redesign of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, India.

Read full Press Release here

Trahan Architects, an award-winning architecture firm with offices in New Orleans and New York, announced today that it has been selected by The City of Austin to design a performing arts center for the Asian American Resource Center (AARC) in Austin, Texas.

The Asian American Resource Center’s mission is to create a space of belonging and healing for Asian American communities in Austin and beyond. This is accomplished through community collaborations and partnerships; providing rental space; organizing cultural, educational, and health wellness programs; and curating art and historical exhibitions. The AARC leads with its values and vision so that diverse communities are supported and connected.

Read full Press Release here

Trey Trahan reflects on growing up in Louisiana, and how the eroding state provided the basis for what he calls “Peace Architecture.”

“At the outset of each project, Trahan Architects asks a series of questions that focus on striking the proper balance between building and site: Who lived here? What happened on this land? How healthy is the watershed? Exactly how much ‘architecture’ is appropriate here? What are the conditions of the soil – the only grounds upon which peace can lastingly be built? This is an approach rooted in place.”
— Trey Trahan, FAIA, Founder & CEO, Trahan Architects

Read full article here

Trahan Architects and Usdan announced today they are creating a strategic master plan for Usdan, on Long Island, New York, to support ongoing operations as a summer arts camp for children, the development of year-round programs for people of all ages, and revenue generation to support student scholarships and ensure the continuity of this dynamic place that has played a formative role in over 40,000 children’s lives.

The strategic master plan will outline a vision of a sustainable campus that leverages existing assets and is deeply rooted in nature – one which fosters creativity, community and an exploratory approach to learning; retaining Usdan’s incredible spirit of place and the very special connection to nature that makes this campus so unique.

Read full Press Release here

Trahan Architects, a global architecture firm with studios in New Orleans, Atlanta and New York City, announced today that it was awarded the AIA Georgia 2021 Excellence Award for Interior Architecture for its design of the Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theatre located in Atlanta, Georgia. This award, given by AIA Georgia, an association of The American Institute of Architects, is in recognition of commitment to the design profession and the pursuit of Architectural Excellence.

“The Alliance Theatre is incredibly proud to have a theatre space that, through the exceptional quality of the design, matches and enhances the artistry we put on stage,” said Alliance’s managing director Mike Schleifer. “The new space that Trahan Architects designed is welcoming, intimate and visually stunning, and we’re excited to share it with even more audiences now that we’re back to producing live performances.”

Read full Press Release here

Trahan Architects announced today that it has appointed Kevin Thomas as Managing Principal, and April De Simone as Principal, in its New York City Studio.

Thomas led REX’s Brown University Performing Arts Center project and maintains a résumé that includes more than 21 years of experience designing projects from theatres to university buildings, healthcare facilities, and commercial towers.

As a transdisciplinary designer, De Simone brings 20 years of experience navigating the intersectionality of architecture, planning and systems thinking. Her work, inspired by her experiences growing up in the Bronx, New York, cultivates reframed opportunities within pedagogy and processes, advancing opportunities within the practice of architecture to spatialize healing, equity and restitution.

Read full Press Release here

“I am excited to have renowned architect Trey Trahan teaching at CUA this fall. His sensibility, award-winning design skills, and commitment to social responsibility will invite our students and community to consider fundamental ethical issues of architecture concerning the many challenges facing our society today.”

— Julio Bermudez, Director of the Walton Program

Read full Press Release here

Trahan Architects wins Large Firm in the South Category

“The diverse and thoughtful work in this portfolio exposed a clear and intense relationship to both client and context. The work was remarkably versatile, showed clear technical capacity, and was tailored in a way that allowed me to see how carefully they tackled each inquiry.”

— Jared Della Valle

Read full list of winners here.

“The Trahan Architects-designed Chapel of St. Ignatius and Gayle and Tom Benson Jesuit Center broke ground today on the Loyola University New Orleans campus in an event presided over by university and Jesuit leadership and the design team. The chapel is entirely donor-funded and, once complete, will house a 120-seat sanctuary and a 50-seat community center.”

— The Architect’s Newspaper

Read full article here.

The project was originally proposed over a decade ago when New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson, a long-time donor to his alma mater, pledged to build the center on the site of the now-demolished library at the heart of the campus. Over time, the plans for the center were scaled back and its location changed in order to preserve walkways, green spaces and to accommodate other development plans at the university.

“[At the Benson Jesuit Center, the] driving principle was to make the center a place where people from the surrounding neighborhood would feel they could drop in, including people from different faiths.”

Read full article here.

Trahan Architects announced that it has received the 2021 Interior Architecture Award for the Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theatre presented by the National Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

“At the heart of a celebrated arts center campus in Atlanta, the Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theatre has been transformed, demonstrating what is possible when a multi-disciplinary team works in concert.”

— AIA

Read full Press Release here.

Trahan Architects announced that it has hired Lesley Braxton as Principal, formerly of Perkins and Will. Braxton’s work strikes a beautiful balance between courage and restraint – two qualities learned during her childhood. Her family relocated to eight different states in her first 17 years, teaching Braxton to embrace change, optimism and the cultures of many. This influenced her path as an architect and interior design architect to take a wide-angle view and operate as a generalist in a seemingly very specific world. She designs across higher education, science and technology, and corporate typologies, ultimately blending influences of each project into the next.

Read full Press Release here.

It is with tremendous sadness that we share news of the passing of our colleague James Conner Bryan, LEED AP, Associate AIA. Known to our community as Conner, he died peacefully in his sleep Feb. 3, 2021, at his home in New Orleans.

Conner was intelligent, thoughtful, a loyal friend, and an incredible talent in the field of architecture. He joined Trahan Architects in 2014 and became a leader in the firm’s sustainable design efforts. He embodied the firm’s ethos of kindness, collaboration and artistry. His experience included cultural and educational spaces, hospitality and commercial projects, convention and event centers, and master planning. Conner maintained a firm belief in design that provides smart and adaptive responses to human degradation on the environment: “Today we must ask ourselves: ‘How do we do more with much less?’.”

Conner was pivotal on numerous award-winning Trahan Architects projects, including Magazine Street Residence; College Station Boutique Hotel; New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau Renovation; Expo Georgia Convention Center and Master Plan; Aurora Event Center; The Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria – Arrival Garden and Moody Pavilions; New England Mixed-Use Development; and the Ochsner Center for Innovation. His current projects included an affordable housing development in Texas and a new chapel at Loyola University New Orleans.

In his past experience at Allied Works Architecture, Conner worked on the acclaimed net-zero Sokol Blosser Wine Tasting Room – the first winery in the United States to pursue the Living Building Challenge certification. During his graduate studies, Conner worked at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Sustainable Development, serving as graduate research associate for the university’s Public Interest Design/Build Program for three years. While at UT Austin, he also won a Design Excellence Award as well as the Blake Alexander and Richard Clark Traveling Student Fellowships with which he travelled to Europe to study and document new forms of advanced timber construction, craft and technologies.

Conner was born in Huntsville, Ala., and later graduated from Navarre High School in Florida, where he was a star athlete and honor student. His education included a Master of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin, 2013; International Program, Technische Universität München, 2012; Bachelor of Design in Architecture, University of Florida, 2009; and the International Program, Vicenza Istituto di Architettura, 2009.

“The grief we feel over the loss of our friend Conner is shared by so many in the design community,” said Trey Trahan, FAIA, founder and CEO of Trahan Architects. “Conner touched our lives through his talent, his commitment to quality and his kind approach to colleagues and clients. It was my blessing to know him, and we will do our best to live up to his ideals.”

Brad McWhirter, AIA, partner at Trahan Architects, said, “In Conner’s own words written in his design portfolio, he believed that ‘architecture has the ability to positively impact and alter our perception and experience in our everyday lives.’ In looking back, it was Conner who had the ability to positively impact and alter our perception and experience in our everyday lives, and he will forever be remembered for that. How lucky we were to have him as a friend and a colleague.”

A private service will be held in Cullman, Ala. with Moss Service Funeral Home officiating. If you wish to honor Conner’s memory, his family asks that donations be made to the American Red Cross.

“Brick & Wonder member, Trey Trahan, is an architect based in New Orleans, Louisiana. His firm, with offices in New Orleans and New York City, works globally on residential, academic, athletic, cultural, and commercial projects ranging from innovative homes to large-scale institutions. Trey’s practice is closely tied to the exploration, curiosity, and play of fine art. His philosophy is driven by human connection and kindness. We sat down with Trey to learn more.”

— Brick & Wonder

Read full article here.

Trahan Architects brings a distinct brand of mindful architecture and humanitarian collaboration to its New Orleans office and award-winning projects around the globe.

“We begin as humanitarians who have chosen architecture as our profession…”

— Julia LeBlanc, Trahan Architects, Director of Communications

Read full article here.

Photograph by Sara Bradley

Robbie Eleazer, AIA – Design Director, New York City Studio

Robbie Eleazer is a licensed New York architect with more than 12 years of experience.  He is a leading voice in performing arts, cultural and public sector projects and was a founding member in the establishment of Trahan Architect’s NYC studio over six years ago.

“I see my role as a continuation of our firm’s ethos of openness: it is about listening to our clients and collaborators points of view, making sure every voice in our firm is contributing towards our design excellence, and leaving ourselves open to outside influences.”

Nathan Petty, AIA – Director, New Orleans Studio

Nathan Petty has two decades of professional experience in internationally recognized and award-winning design practices. At Trahan Architects, he is instrumental in the daily management of studio operations and the firm’s most complex and demanding project – the Mercedes-Benz Superdome renovation.

“Trahan Architects continues to uphold one of the most important aspects of design – the intersection of geometry with the craft of building,” said Petty. “For me, there is no limit to the level of fascination that this can offer.”

Sheena Garcia, Associate AIA – Project Designer/Visualization Specialist,  New Orleans Studio

Sheena Garcia brings more than ten years of experience as a lead visualizer and creative manager. Her work as an architect and artist focuses on the development of 3D media techniques as a tool for the advancement of design through representation.

“Trahan Architects is committed to the integration of visualization in the studio’s process. There is no substitute for the sense of joy in seeing a client’s response to our design of their future space. I am pleased to use my experience to help develop the firm’s efforts in the use of representation.”

Jonathan Fidalgo, AIA – Design Architect, New Orleans Studio

Jonathan Fidalgo joined Trahan Architects in 2018 after receiving his M.Arch degree from M.I.T. He recently earned his architectural license in Louisiana.

“I’m grateful for the support and mentorship provided by the senior members of the Trahan team. The path to architecture licensure is strenuous, Trahan’s commitment and encouragement throughout the process was invaluable.”

Read Full Press Release Here

Trahan Architects and Son of a Saint are pleased to announce today that Javier Castellon joins the firm as an intern and mentee of the firm’s founder and CEO Trey Trahan, and its entire staff in New Orleans and New York. Son of a Saint is a nonprofit organization which exists to transform the lives of fatherless boys through mentorship, emotional support, development of life skills, exposure to constructive experiences and formation of positive, lasting peer-to-peer relationships. Castellon is a Son of a Saint program participant and has been active in the organization since its inception in 2011. Son of a Saint is now celebrating its 10th anniversary of service and success…

Read More

70 years of GOOD DESIGN® the oldest and the most Prestigious Design Awards Program

The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd. present the Museum’s annual GOOD DESIGN® Awards Program for the most innovative and cutting-edge industrial, product, and graphiτc designs produced around the world.

View 2020 Good Design Winners here.

January 27, 2021 – 12:00pm – 1:00pm
Member Price: $30
Non- member Price: $40

Emerging Trends in Real Estate: The Future of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome

ULI Louisiana is excited to announce that our lunchtime keynote will feature Trey Trahan, of Trahan Architects, about the future renovation plans for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Mercedes-Benz Superdome is arguably the state’s most recognizable landmark. Shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Trahan Architects was selected to be the lead architect and managing partner of the team that restored the iconic Superdome on an accelerated schedule, allowing it to reopen on September 25, 2006, under budget and ahead of schedule. Fast forward to 2021, Trahan Architects is now leading a multi-phase major renovation of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome that includes the design of spacious atriums that will eventually replace the current ramp system, as well as improved concourses to accommodate vendors and field-level end zone boxes.

Location
Virtual Presentation, Register to receive login link

Register Online Now

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels revealed today their design for the renewal of Luther George Park located in downtown Springdale, Arkansas. The project was commissioned by the Downtown Springdale Alliance which received a grant from the Walton Family Foundation in conjunction with their Design Excellence Program to jump-start implementation of its downtown master plan with the expansion and renovation of Luther George Park. The park is part of the city’s larger plan to create vibrant public spaces and plazas, with the flexibility to support public art, performing arts and seasonal outdoor markets…

Read more

U.S. Commission of Fine Arts Approves Concept Design by Reed Hilderbrand and Trahan Architects

Elizabeth K. Meyer, FASLA, Vice Chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts,
said in the hearing: “I want to underscore what I really appreciate about the new site
plan. One is the clarity of the spatial sequence, the degree to which courtyards and
gardens build rooms and thresholds as a coherent sequence. The second is that it’s
really rare that we get a design team that isn’t thinking about the building on one
drawing and the landscape on another drawing. We just don’t get this kind of
collaboration.”

“This recent flooding in New Orleans reminds us that all buildings need to be built to higher, with more resilient standards. Famously the Mercedes-Benz Superdome was badly damaged during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 although it had to shelter about 16,000 residents whose homes were destroyed, as well as shelter about 150 National Guardsmen for six long days.

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Trahan Architects was selected to be the lead architect and managing partner of the team that restored the iconic Superdome on an accelerated schedule, allowing it to reopen on September 25, 2006, under budget and ahead of schedule with a total cost of over $200 million…”

Read full article here

Episode 27: The Quarterback of the Current Superdome Renovations, Trey Trahan

Originally constructed in 1975, our beloved Superdome began a major, $450 Million facelift this year and Trey Trahan, founder and CEO of Trahan Architects, is leading the efforts. In this week’s podcast, he talks about what it was like bringing the Dome back from Hurricane Katrina 15 years ago and what he loves about the changes you’ll see with this new renovation. As the head of the No. 1 design firm in the United States, he also shares his thoughts on New Orleans’ place in the architectural landscape and what’s up next for the firm.

Listen here

Thursday, November 5, 2020
11:20am-12:20pm CST: Discussion, Q+A

Facing the Big One: Straightforward Solutions that Prioritize Resiliency

As was most recently demonstrated by Hurricane Laura, the Gulf Coast is prone to severe, increasingly frequent tropical cyclones. While no substitute for long-term urban planning policies, building enclosures can be designed, detailed, and upgraded to mitigate disaster. Panelists will illustrate topical strategies through varied case studies, with an eye toward identifying widely applicable solutions.

Location
Virtual Presentation, Register to receive login link

Earn up to 7 AIA CEUS

Registration
Register online at:
https://facadesplus.com/events/southwest20/

Trahan Architects has been honored with three International Architecture awards by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

The three Trahan Architects projects to win this prestigious award are:

The Betty and Edward Marcus Sculpture Park at Laguna Gloria – Arrival Garden and Moody Pavilions

Julia Street Mixed-Use Development

Ochsner Innovation Center

Since 2004, The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, together with The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press, Ltd. have organized The International Architecture Awards as a way in which to honor the best, significant new buildings, landscape architecture, and planning projects designed and/or built around the world’s leading architects, landscape architects, and urban planners practicing nationally and internationally.

Friday, August 21, 2020
12:00pm-1:00pm CST: Discussion, Q+A

AIA New Orleans: Storytelling with Architects

Location
Zoom Meeting
Register to receive the link

Cost
Free & open to the public

CES Credit
1.0 LU Credit – Advanced Registration is Required

Registration
Register online at:
https://www.aianeworleans.org/event/story7/

“I had the opportunity to interview Trey Trahan, the founder of Trahan Architects in New Orleans and New York. His firm was recently ranked #1 Design Firm in the U.S. by ARCHITECT Magazine, the official publication of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). I was interested in Trahan’s work because of his commitment to altering thoughts about architecture to meet the current crisis’ plaguing this country, as well as around the world…”

Read full article here

“All responsible architects respect the world of nature and strive to work in harmony with the environment. For some, like Victor F. “Trey” Trahan FAIA, that mandate is their religion. Trahan Architects are rooted in New Orleans, with a satellite office in New York, but their founding principal grew up in rural Louisiana, in the small…”

Read full article here

Thursday, May 21, 2020
12:00pm (Noon) EST: Discussion, Q+A

VISION is the “Architect’s Leadership Forum” of AIA Cincinnati, dedicated to professional advancement, firm development, and community outreach.

Location
Zoom Meeting
Register to receive the link

Cost
Free & open to the public

CES Credit
1.0 HSW/LU hours

Registration
Register online at:
www.aiacincinnati.org

Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA

Winner of the AIANY Interiors Honor Award

“The beautiful thing about it is that it’s driven by what the
hand can do.”
—Juror Bryan C. Lee Jr.

Dwell Magazine asked some prominent voices to give their predictions of what we can expect when the worst is over.

“I think there will be a meet-in-the-middle aspect and a deeper understanding of flexibility and acceptance. In some ways, I see it as a possible liberation of a fixed and rigid experience of working in an office. Once it is safe to return to the office we will embrace the changes and shifts, evolving how and where we work. Most importantly, the health and wellbeing of our employees is what I care most about.” -Trey Trahan

Read full article here.

Trahan Architects’ practice is deeply rooted in the community of New Orleans, and it is our mission to support those working tirelessly to help keep our city safe. As part of city-wide efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19, we delivered face shields to Tulane Medical Center to help protect front-line workers. We are grateful to everyone working in critical roles — from healthcare to grocery to construction.

If anyone has any specific needs where Trahan Architects can be of service please send a direct message to Julia LeBlanc at jleblanc@trahanarchitects.com.

Trahan Architects tops the list with “dramatic, sumptuous, and well-detailed” projects.

If you had to describe the work of New Orleans–based Trahan Architects according to only one essential element, it would be materiality. Take the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, where Trahan partnered with sculptor Matthias Pliessnig on the overhaul of a historic 650-seat auditorium. The interior of undulating ribbons fabricated from steam-bent white oak inspired a “wow” from the design judges, who lauded the firm’s “dramatic, sumptuous, and well-detailed” projects that offer “beautiful, compelling spaces to dwell within.” The firm’s portfolio helped Trahan earn the Number One spot for Design in this year’s Architect 50.

Read more of the article here.

The Future of Architecture is Inclusivity

Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre, Woodruff Arts Center | Atlanta, GA

The New Orleans-based firm sought to create a chamber with a strikingly modern aesthetic of sinuous strands of reclaimed oak while also making a performance space that is truly democratic, where all sounds- spoken word and musical notes alike- can be heard with the same intensity from any seat in the house. “We wanted to make everyone in the audience feel accepted and celebrated,” says Trey Trahan, the company’s founder. “Architecture should play a role in creating spaces that remind us to be, on the most basic level, kind to each other.” The aural effect within the Coca-Cola Stage is the product of assiduously researched acoustical theories. Each half-inch strand of shaped wood was placed to meet the requirements of every seat. With only one balcony and rows pushed 10 feet closer to the stage than is typical, this theatre proves there’s no shame in the back row.

-Charles Curkin (Journalist), Parker Larson (Editor)

Trahan Architects wins AIANY Interiors Honor Award for the Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre

Read more of the article here.

Trahan Architects welcomes two new female executives. Julia Gamolina, Director of Strategy, and Julia LeBlanc, Director of Business Development and Communications, bring to the firm exceptional experience in communications, strategy, public relations and business development. They will work cross-functionally and cohesively with the firm’s established Director of Marketing, Amanda Huhn, who has over a decade of experience in the architectural industry, to build, brand and promote the firm. The addition of the two women in leadership roles furthers Trahan’s mission to advance and empower women in architecture. In a field dominated by men, Founder Trey Trahan has made a strategic initiative to build a team that supports gender equality at the rapidly growing firm and says “Growing up with three sisters and a strong mother, I have tremendous respect and admiration for independent and forward-thinking women. “The Julia’s” are just that. They are emerging thought leaders who bring a fresh perspective and an entrepreneurial mindset to the firm.”

Julia Gamolina is dedicated to the built environment and the visibility of the women who work in it. With prior expertise in architecture, communications, and business development, she is the Director of Strategy at Trahan Architects, focusing on new business and all aspects of firm growth. Julia is also the Founder and Editor of MadameArchitect.org, an online publication focusing on the women that advance the practice of architecture. Thus far, she has published interviews with over 100 architects and designers, as well as CEOs, journalists, attorneys, editors, and more. In 2019, Julia received the Special Citation from the New York Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for her work with Madame Architect and was recently named one of the “Top 20 Under 40” by the Professional Women in Construction in New York. She received her Bachelor of Architecture from Cornell University, graduating with the Charles Goodwin Sands Memorial Medal exceptional merit in the thesis of Architecture.

Julia LeBlanc is a business development, communications, and public relations executive with 15 years of experience domestically and abroad. She has held executive leadership positions at Viacom, David Yurman and most recently, led global strategic communications and marketing for the fine jewelry company, Marco Bicego. She is known for her success in creating long-term value through brand positioning and relationship development with customers and key influencers in the fields of business, commerce, and organizational theory. In this role she will develop new business and strategically communicate the firm’s ethos of ecology, materiality and responsibility.

Since its inception, Trahan Architects has built a significant portfolio with a wide range of building types and scales, including academic, cultural, performing arts, ecclesiastic, residential, athletic, commercial, mixed-use and urban projects throughout the US and overseas. Notable projects include The Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia; The Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana; and an important conservation and preservation undertaking at Corcovado National Park in Patagonia, Chile.

Trahan Architects is Ranked #1 in Design by ARCHITECT 50, awarded by ARCHITECT Magazine, the official publication of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

New Orleans-based Trahan, which has been the main design firm for the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina, was named last week as the top design firm in the country by Architect magazine.

“The strategy here has been to enhance the quality of experience for the spectator at all levels: general seats, club, the suites, and now there is going to be SROs,” said Trahan, referring to ticketed standing room only areas similar to those now in place at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium and at FedEx Field in Washington D.C.

Read the full article here.

The 2019 Tri-State Conference: Breaking Ground! supports this foundation. A collaboration between AIA New Jersey, AIA New York, AIA Pennsylvania, Breaking Ground! was created to share ideas and technologies that are redefining our profession and industry.

This year the Aurora Event Center located in Aurora, NY will be recognized at the awards ceremony.

The Innovation Awards recognize the exemplary use and implementation of innovative technologies and progressive practices among architects and designers, collaborators, and clients. Trahan Architects’ Coca-Cola Stage at the Alliance Theatre was awarded in the “Development of Design or Design Thinking” category.

Read more about the project on the AIA Innovation Awards website.

The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies has announced two Trahan Architects projects as winners of The American Architecture Awards for 2019:

111 North
Laredo Conference Center

Now celebrating the 25th year, The American Architectural Awards® are the nation’s highest and most prestigious distinguished building awards program that honor new and cutting-edge design in the United States.

This annual program, organized by both our institutions, also promotes American architecture and design to our public audience in the U.S. and abroad.

View full list of winners here.

Trahan Architects transforms a historic venue into an interactive destination made possible through the combination of artistry, design, and lasers.

The primary challenges of fabricating the millwork for this Theatre project were: 

1. Working with The Artist to accurately translate the material properties of hand steam bent millwork into a digital environment.

2. Synthesizing the variegated acoustic requirements for spoken word theatre 

3. Working with The Fabricator to mass produce steam bent millwork, with 1/32nd tolerance, by leveraging augmented reality tools. Defining a fabrication process that minimized waste.

Watch video here

Over a decade after leading the team effort to restore the iconic Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, Trahan Architects’ continued involvement in the modernization of Louisiana’s most recognizable landmark is an honor.

Great public projects shape our shared values. As spaces to gather and reflect, cultural architecture reimagines daily life across rural and urban fabrics. Cultural architecture represents a range of different building types, from civic and religious spaces to libraries and concert halls. As landmarks, these projects stand out from traditional buildings and usually combine diverse programs. They typically require more resources and space within a city, and leave lasting economic and social impacts. Built across scales, they are made to inspire.

Read full article here

Trahan Architects’ Magnolia Mound Turner Family Visitors Center project is up for a 2019 Building of the Year Award on ArchDaily. Please take a moment to nominate the project by clicking on the link. It only takes a few seconds! Voting is open online until March 4th at 12:01AM EST.

Trahan Architects have just been ranked #9 among the top 50 design firms of 2018 by Architect Magazine, the official journal of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Architect 50, the magazine’s annual nationwide ranking of firms, recognized Trahan Architects based on a featured portfolio of current designs which includes the transformation of the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta; the Aurora Event Center in Aurora, New York; Magnolia Mound Turner Family Visitors Center in Baton Rouge; the Fundo Tic Toc Conservation in Corcovado National Park, Chile; and the Conservation Foundation Headquarters in New Orleans.

The judges for the Architect 50 program, now in its 10^th year, considered the work of 160 architecture firms, ranking how they performed in categories that included design, sustainability and business. Trahan Architects’ designs put the firm in the top ten among firms with a U.S. based office.

To read more and see the complete list, please visit their site here.

Many thanks to our collaborators The Boundary & For Office Use Only!

Partner Leigh Breslau, AIA, will be speaking at the upcoming AIA Austin Summer Conference on Friday, August 24, presenting our Laguna Gloria project done in collaboration with Reed Hilderbrand landscape architects. The session is entitled: “Art, Architecture, and Landscapes: Designing a Master Plan For Laguna Gloria.” Other speakers for the session include: Louis Grachos, Executive Director and CEO of The Contemporary Austin, Geoff Fritz, Senior Associate with Reed Hilderbrand, and John Hart Asher, Senior Environmental Designer with the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center.

For tickets and more information on the event, please visit the AIA Austin website here.

Trahanarchitects.com is shortlisted for the 2018 Archiboo Web Awards in the following 5 categories:

Best Homepage

Best Use of Digital Imagery

Best Visual Design

Best Use of Video

Best Overall Experience

We would also like to recognize our talented team of collaborators including Spirit of Space, The Boundary, and For Office Use Only.

Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in London in September.

We are excited to announce that our Aurora Event Center project has taken home an American Architecture Prize from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies celebrating the best new architecture in the United States in 2018!

To see all of the winners, please visit the award website here.

“New Orleans’ architecture provides a framework for our rich landscape, community, and culture; but it is the people that make us who we are.  NOAF strives to educate the people of New Orleans about authentic, responsible design.” -Brad McWhirter

At the end of the fall 2017 semester, the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture inaugurated the first EX-CHANGE, a celebration of the student work of the School of Architecture. Every semester, the SoA studios generate rich provocations, collaborations, and opportunities for both orchestrated and spontaneous exchange.

This booklet is a compendium of thought, work, and discussion generated by EX-CHANGE. It includes studio work alongside excerpts from the moderated conversation between students and critics based on questions generated by studios, reflecting on how the work and research developed at the SoA relates to broader thought in academia and practice.

Inside this booklet you will find:

• Images of student work
• Interviews with Aaron Betsky and Trey Trahan
• Photos from 2017 EX-CHANGE
• Reflections by students and faculty

Today the South Carolina AIA Design Awards Jury met at Trahan Architects’ New Orleans office. Members included jury chair, Trey Trahan FAIA, Wendy Hillis, AIA of the Tulane School of Architecture, Wm. Raymond Manning, FAIA, president of Manning Architects, and Melissa Rome, AIA, founding partner Rome Office. Winners will be announced in April!

ArchDaily feature’s Magnolia Mound Visitors Center by Trahan Architects.

Situated on high ground adjacent to the Mississippi River, Magnolia Mound was a working plantation established in 1791. Today, Magnolia Mound’s mission is to illustrate and interpret the French Creole lifestyle through educational programs, workshops, lectures, festivals and other special events. The design intent of the project is to emphasize the importance of site and topography as it relates to Magnolia Mound.

The minimal intervention seeks to elevate the existing historic buildings and site by establishing a clear threshold for visitors as they circulate around the base of the mound. As one transitions through the new visitor center and ascends to the top of the mound, the building merges with the landscape to become unobtrusive and imperceptible. The top of the new structure aligns with the elevation of the high ground of the mound, establishing a datum which links old and new architecture on site.

Translucent channel glass was selected to subtly obscure occupants within and around the new building like an impressionist painting – blurring the distinction between new and old, building and landscape. The museum display cases were designed as a complementary element to the new architectural intervention. Inspired by the work of Donald Judd and Sol Lewitt, these solid aluminum fixtures attempt to bridge between sculpture, furniture, and architecture; providing storage space, display opportunities, and point of sale.

Trahan Architect’s design for a new Laredo Convention Center in Laredo Texas was unveiled to the City Council on Monday November 20^th 2017.

Laredo’s long-awaited downtown convention center is designed to incorporate two historic homes into its plans for a new, modern structure that overlooks the Rio Grande.

A plan presented to City Council on Monday shows that the proposed convention center would wrap around the east, south and west sides of Casa Ortiz and the unoccupied baby blue house that is next door at 907 Zaragoza St.

Council voted unanimously to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Palafox Hospitality, a subsidiary of Fasken Oil and Ranch that manages La Posada Hotel, to provide a framework for this project’s development.

There is not yet a cost estimate for the convention center, but the agreement stipulates that the city will pay for construction costs as well as for the building’s furniture, fixtures and equipment.

The city will also “consider providing an abatement or reimbursement” of a portion of La Posada’s property taxes, according to the MOU. They may also consider waiving building permit fees or “other incentives that may be available for the project.”

Trey Trahan, FAIA, will be speaking at the School of Architecture at Carnegie Mellon University on Monday, November 13, as part of their Fall 2017 Lecture Series, presenting his lecture titled: “Fragmenting Ecologies”. Trey is serving as the Alan H. Rider Visiting Critic and Distinguished Lecturer this semester at CMU.

Trey spends his time between New Orleans, New York, and Patagonia Chile, where he recently purchased and is in the process of conserving a property in the Corcovado National Park, one of the eleven national parks established by North Face founder Douglas Tompkins. He is working to return this property to its pristine natural state, while enjoying his time in this remote landscape. Fragmenting Ecologies investigates increasing species through fragmentation of ecologies.

For more information on the lecture, please check here.

Trey Trahan, FAIA, is Founder and CEO of Trahan Architects, with local and international projects that have received recognition for their innovative use of materials. With a strong personal belief in the value of conservation and philanthropy, Trey’s life and work is guided by a commitment to the development of sustainable environments. Trey’s architectural projects include the Louisiana State Museum in Natchitoches, recipient of a 2015 National AIA Honor Award for Interior Architecture and Architect Magazine’s Annual Design Review Award. Trey has taught graduate classes at both MIT and USC, is board member of The Cultural Landscape Foundation in Washington DC, and member of the global advisory board for the Van Allen Institute in New York.

Trahan New York studio member Michael Pryor has released a custom plugin for Grasshopper with over 65 new computational tools. The plugin was specifically developed as part of the Millwork BIM modeling effort Trahan Architects has led on the Alliance Theatre. The Alliance Theatre Chamber uses over 170,053 linear feet of ½” x ½” oak slat cladding. Each slat’s centerline is parametrically controlled using the tools found within the Pufferfish plugin. The oak slat cladding system was developed by a collaborative effort between artist Matthias Pliessnig and Trahan Architects. The Pufferfish plugin translates many of the physical operations used by Matthias’s steam bending process into a digitally controlled environment. Techniques such as blending between control curves on a surface, respecting minimum and maximum slat spacing are all crucial computational protocols implemented into Pufferfish.

The Owensboro-Daviess County Convention Center in Owensboro, KY, by Trahan Architects, was honored with the AIA Chicago 2017 Distinguished Building Honor Award, the highest form of recognition. The jury included Brad Cloepfil (Allied Works), Louise Braverman (Braverman Architects) and Paul Mankins (Substance Architecture). View all winners here.

In an excerpt from an article in the Chicago Tribune it was noted that “In the distinguished building category, two projects won honor awards, the highest form of recognition. They were the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention Center in Owensboro, KY, by Trahan Architects, and the Seven Oaks horse farm in St. Charles, by JAHN.”

As a participant in the Van Alen Institute’s International Council Fall Summit 2017, Trey Trahan will partake in a Design Charrette on Density & Civic Participation co-hosted by Van Alen Institute and Red Bull Station in Sao Paulo Brazil.

About the Institute:

At Van Alen Institute, we believe design can transform cities, landscapes, and regions to improve people’s lives.

We collaborate with communities, scholars, policymakers, and professionals on local and global initiatives that rigorously investigate the most pressing social, cultural, and ecological challenges of tomorrow.

Building on more than a century of experience, we develop cross disciplinary research, provocative public programs and inventive design competitions.

Our environments shape every aspect of our lives, though we do not yet fully understand how. We must develop a better understanding of how we are affected by them, and work hard to improve those environments for people everywhere.

Design is a crucial tool for tackling complex social, ecological, and cultural challenges. It is a tool for analysis, breaking down seemingly intractable problems into their constituent parts. Design can identify and define problems, and propose new solutions. It can communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively, allowing people to visualize a different future and the steps it will take to enable that change.

Trey Trahan has been invited to be on the Perkins + Will DLC Jury for their annual competition. Trey is joined on the jury with Thomas Phifer of Thomas Phifer & Partners, Debra Lehman Smith of studio LSM, Casey Jones of jones | kroloff, Turan Duda of Duda | Paine Architects, Robin Abrams, Head of the North Carolina State University School of Architecture, and Tallman Trask, Executive Vice President of Duke University.

This year’s competition is titled “Excess in the City: The Challenges of Prosperity” and focuses on an urban site in Durham, North Carolina.

Every year, for 15 years, the Design Leadership Council (DLC) at Perkins+Will supports a competition eliciting the engagement of its less senior professionals within the organization to take part in a design charrette in the hope of eliciting responses to provocative design challenges.

The DLC is an inter-office representative body that is charged with furthering the state of the art and technology of comprehensive design excellence at Perkins+Will. As a highly engaged, interdisciplinary group of thought and design leaders, the DLC serves to ensure the continuity and advancement of Perkins+Will’s exemplary design culture and our internationally recognized reputation for design leadership.

The DLC achieves these goals through a series of initiatives and ongoing activities established to raise the level of firm-wide discourse and performance with regards to innovation, creativity, technology, fulfillment of social and environmental responsibilities, and integrated design practice.

The DLC provides a framework for the periodic review, evaluation and recognition of the professional design achievements of the practice, offices, teams and individuals. It sponsors design awards programs, an annual internal design competition, as well as internal peer reviews, workshops, and evaluations of selected high profile projects which may significantly impact Perkins+Will’s reputation for design excellence. The DLC also provides a venue for the identification and discussion of current and future design opportunities and challenges.

For more information on the competition, please read more here.

Trahan Architects was honored to receive three AIA Louisiana Awards at the 2017 Design Conference last week.  Both College Station Boutique Hotel and the Aurora Event Center received Merit Awards in Unbuilt Architecture. Magnolia Mound Vistors Center was recognized with a Merit Award in Architecture.

The Louisiana Chapter of the American Institute of Architects seeks to encourage excellence in architecture. With over 50 entries, the projects submitted covered a broad range of projects, both real and conceptual. At the Awards luncheon, Jury Chair Jamie Aycock, AIA, GAstudio, Bessemer, AL, will present the opinions and thoughts of the jurors in their selection of this year’s outstanding examples of architecture.

This event would not be complete without the presentation of the Louisiana Architectural Foundation’s Patron of Architecture Award, the President’s Award and the Emerging Professional Achievement Award.

The Fundo Tic Toc project has just won an Honor Award in Analysis and Planning at the ASLA Awards 2017 (American Society of Landscape Architects).

Our founder, Trey Trahan, has been working with Reed Hilderbrand landscape architects to restore and return Fundo Tic Toc to its pristine, natural state. Tucked into Chile’s remote Patagonian fjords, the project area is a 570-acre promontory within Chile’s 750,000-acre Parque Nacional Corcovado. The site overlooks Tic-Toc Marine Park, one of the most bio-diverse and productive marine ecosystems on Earth. The goal of this project was to create a low-intervention plan to restore and protect the site.

Congratulations to everyone at Reed Hilderbrand for this great honor!

Curbed Atlanta features the Alliance Theatre’s metamorphosis in progress:

The Alliance Theatre has hosted countless shows and other cultural events in its half-century on Peachtree Street in Midtown, but nothing compares to the drama of destruction currently playing out in the space.

Instagram photos posted by an account likely belonging to Victor W. Smith, the director of production for the Alliance, highlight the demolition within the Woodruff Arts Center.

The work is clearing the way for a transformational renovation to give new life to the 1960s-era venue.

Plans for the eye-popping renovation bubbled up nearly two years ago. Since, more details have been revealed about the sinuous new wood interior that was designed by New Orleans-based firm Trahan Architects.

A $38-million grant, secured back in 2014, jump-started the process of what will ultimately be a $110-million initiative to include the theater renovation, new learning spaces, pre-performance spaces, and more inviting public spaces for visitors, as well as endowments and funding for an array of programs.

The Alliance Theatre, founded in 1968, is a Tony award-winning regional theatre located within the celebrated Woodruff Arts Center campus. The initial phase of work focuses on the chamber, its lobby and artistic support facilities which will be gutted to the original concrete enclosing walls. The transformation pulls the 650 seat chamber 10’ closer to stage. The planning of the chamber optimizes site lines, utilizes ramping in lieu of lifts and integrates stairs to provide access to all levels. Each surface is tuned acoustically to deliver world class theatre to its patrons.

The design team felt a responsibility to remove the separation between balcony and orchestra – challenging historic notions of segregation and discrimination. All seating zones can be accessed from every entrance within the chamber – a unifying planning feature of the Alliance Theatre Transformation.

Please join the, NOAF,  New Orleans Architecture Foundation on Tuesday, August 1st, to hear from local architect, Trey Trahan, FAIA on his practice, design process and philosophy, and the unique challenges and opportunities of practicing architecture in New Orleans.

Victor F. “Trey” Trahan, III, FAIA, is Founder and CEO of Trahan Architects. Driven by a strong personal belief in conservation and philanthropy, his life work is guided by a commitment to the development of sustainable environments.

The firm’s portfolio demonstrates a wide range of building types and scales, including academic, cultural, ecclesiastic, residential, commercial, mixed-use and urban projects throughout the US and overseas. The firm has won over 75 national, regional, and local awards along with several international design competitions, receiving widespread recognition for their innovative use of materials. The firm’s work has been published in more than 40 countries.

Atlanta’s largest nonprofit theatre, the Alliance Theatre has spent nearly half a century in a “facility that predated our organization identity,” as they put it politely. Slighlty more bluntly: Though its facility, built in 1968 on the campus of what is now called the Woodruff Arts Center, was never racially segregated, some aspects of its construction—particularly a balcony served by an independent staircase—reflected a Southern legacy that feels “misaligned” with its current values, as the Alliance words it, invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s “mandate of the beloved community” as a guiding principle of its current rebuilding, to be completed by next season. Meanwhile, the Alliance is starting an ambitious itinerant season all around Atlanta.

Trahan Architects led the team, with consulting by Theatre Projects, structural engineering by Uzun+Case, MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) engineering by DLB Associates, and acoustics by Talaske Group.

A terraced auditorium with a proscenium opening will seat 650. The renovation also includes a costume shop, two rehearsal halls, a green room, two “actor quiet” rooms, 10 dressing rooms accommodating a total of 60 performers, stage management and production offices, electrical and sound shop, a properties kitchen, and production storage.

“It never felt like the right choice to simply produce the off-campus season in a single venue, or even in two venues that might approximate our two theatres,” says Alliance artistic director Susan V. Booth. Her reasoning: “For 48 years, metro Atlanta has supported us by making the trip to our front door. It seemed like we had the opportunity to return the favor, and to do so in a way that celebrated the best of Atlanta by taking our work to a slate of cultural venues across our city.” If it works as planned, she adds, “We’ll be both taking our loyal supporters on a curated trip around their city and meeting new audiences that we can hopefully bring home with us in the years ahead.”

So the Alliance’s 2017-18 season promises to cover every corner of ATL, from the Fulton County Southwest Arts Center and Porter Sanford III Performing Arts & Community Center on the city’s Southside, to the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta and the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre on the Northside, and all points in between: Actor’s Express, Spelman College, Dad’s Garage, Atlanta Symphony Hall, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta History Center, the Galloway School, and the Conant Performing Arts Center at Oglethorpe University.

In addition to off-site productions, the Alliance education department will embed itself in the communities they’re partnering with by offering acting classes, summer camps, and in-school residencies at select satellite locations.

Read full article here.

On Friday, July 7, Trey Trahan will be chairing the 2017 AIA Arkansas Design Awards jury.

In order to encourage excellence in architecture, the Arkansas Chapter of the American Institute of Architects announces its annual Design Awards Program. Through this program AIA Arkansas seeks to honor works of distinction by its members and bring public attention to outstanding examples of Architecture.

The categories were simplified in 2008 to Built and Un-built Categories. Projects will be judged against the jurors’ standard of great design, not against other projects in the category.  Jury guidelines and rules for the program, including the Un-built Category, will be strictly enforced.

The Aurora Event Center project has been featured on Design Boom, Bustler and AASA.

Trahan Architects unveiled their design plans for the new Aurora Event Center in Aurora, New York. Located on the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region, the Aurora Event Center will be a 45,000 square-foot event space that can host weddings and events for up to 250 guests year-round. Working alongside Reed Hilderbrand landscape architects on the scheme, Trahan Architects focused on creating a strong connection with the lake and framing its picturesque views.

“The sequence of experiences takes visitors on a meandering drive through the woodlands as they approach the building’s eastern wall that appears like a ruin in the landscape.”

“In the main event space, the western glass wall frames views of the lake in both the ceremony and reception halls and ultimately reveals the full horizon of the landscape and the lake beyond.

The 45,000 SF building is purposefully designed to minimize its impact on the site and to maintain a seamless integration with the surrounding landscape while providing protection from inclement weather.”

“Only after going through the entry procession can one realize that the building is cut into the hill. Taller on the west side than initially perceived on the east, the rustic board-formed concrete wall retains the earth to carve out space into the hill for the pavilion and terraces.”

Trahan Architects, in collaboration with Gensler, has been chosen for a new Master Plan for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Gensler was chosen over four leading architectural firms – HKS of Dallas, HOK of St. Louis, and HNTB and Populous of Kansas City – by a selection committee that included representatives from the Saints, LSED and SMG. Architects from each group made presentations to the committee during the first week of May.

Gensler was chosen, in part, because of its experience in major renovations of existing stadiums like Rogers Centre in Toronto, Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia and Camp Nou in Barcelona.

Through surveys of fans and employees, Saints officials have supplied to Gensler a wish list of priorities for the renovation with an emphasis on enhancing the in-game experience at the stadium.

Read more on the story on NOLA.com

Trahan Architects is grateful to be recognized by the 2017 AIA New Orleans Design Awards. Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame received the Honor Award, the highest honor of the evening.

Architects from the Gulf States Region of the American Institute of Architects gathered in Orlando on April 28 to celebrate the 2017 Honor Awards program.  Twenty-eight projects were recognized for their bold choices in color and materials, dramatic transformations, restrained design moves, and overall design excellence.  Respected jury members chose these projects from those entered by architects practicing in the Gulf States region. The Honor Awards program identifies built works of distinction, and strives to promote the excellent work by architects from Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

An accomplished group of design professionals, led by Paul Woolford, AIA, Design Director for HOK’s San Francisco office, juried the projects.  Jury members included Niraj Dangoria, Associate Dean, Stanford School of Medicine; David Baker, FAIA, President, David Baker Architects; Lydia Tan, Senior Vice President of Bentall Kennedy Development; and Elizabeth Ranieri, FAIA, Principal, Kuth Ranieri Architects.  Philip E. Black, AIA, of Simonton, Swaika, Black Architects in Birmingham acted as Program Chair,

Together, they reviewed and selected the following 28 projects for recognition from the 144 entered in the program.

Jury comments regarding Trahan’s winning design included:

• “The jury felt that this project is an exemplary design that speaks in a fresh and original voice. It bears no resemblance to anything else, it is truly one of a kind.”
• “What resonates about the project is the extreme duality of the program and the formal architecture of the design solution. A fearlessly reductive outer shell is sheathed in a veil of taught louvers. This Spartan ensemble contains an orifice that channels the visitor to a meandering and mysterious series of processional paths and galleries. They are rendered in an organic spatial language that feels like the internal organs of some great mythic creature.”
• “The project is truly a fantastical adventure; one that the jury welcomed being taken along for the journey.”

Victor F. “Trey” Trahan III, founder and CEO of Trahan Architects, will presents a LSU College of Art + Design Lecture Series for Distinguished Alumni titled, “Nurse Log,” at the LSU College of Art & Design at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, in the LSU Design Building Auditorium (room 103).

Driven by a strong personal belief in conservation and philanthropy, his life work is guided by a commitment to the development of sustainable environments.

The firm’s portfolio demonstrates a wide range of building types and scales, including academic, cultural, ecclesiastic, residential, commercial, mixed-use and urban projects throughout the US and overseas. The firm has won over 75 national, regional, and local awards along with several international design competitions, receiving widespread recognition for their innovative use of materials. The firm’s work has been published in more than 40 countries.

Trahan Architects is grateful to be recognized by the 2017 AIA New Orleans Design Awards. Magnolia Mound Visitors Center received the Honor Award, the highest honor of the evening. The Alliance Theatre Transformation and the College Station Boutique Hotel each received an Honorable Mention for Unbuilt Architecture.

Each year the New Orleans awards program accomplishes three simple, yet invaluable, goals: celebrate the best of this region’s architecture; recognize achievement in a broad range of architectural work; and inform the public of the breadth and value of architectural practice.

The Design Awards would not have been possible without the generous support of our community of partners and sponsors (Landis Construction, Core Construction, AOS, Lettermans, TLC Engineering, Broadmoor, Workplace Solutions, Horizon Italian Tile and many other firms and partners)!

Magnolia Mound Visitors Center wins Honor Award

Trey Trahan, FAIA will give a lecture as part of the Masters of a Generation Series, a series of talks presented by Jonathan Segal FAIA and Jonny Cars. The talk will take place on March 17, 2017 from 5:30-7:00 Pacific Time in San Diego, CA. To purchase tickets click here. 

Masters of a Generation was founded by Jonathan Segal FAIA to educate and raise awareness about the varying processes and approaches to creating works of architecture, and to advance the appreciation of multi-generational information exchange.

In welcoming these Masters who have made lasting contributions to our culture, society and built environment, we recognize and pay tribute to their ongoing legacies as we learn more about their defining moments and the paths leading up to them. We do so in hopes that this invaluable information is carried on through future generations and provides the means necessary to negotiate the inevitable challenges and failures and feasible successes encountered on the road to becoming a Master.

Masters of a Generation is a program of Adjoin, Inc. a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (application pending). 100% of net proceeds from this program will benefit Labrador relief and rescue organizations throughout San Diego County and Baja, California.

The Woodruff Arts Center’s Alliance Theatre Phase 1 nears completion. Construction is underway renovating the existing 3rd and 4th floor of the Alliance Theatre support spaces. The new costume shop facility will be crowned with refurbished skylights and thoughtful storage. When completed, the rehearsal hall will feature new clerestory glazing and an elegant sound and light control ceiling.

The Alliance Theatre has hosted countless shows and other cultural events in its half-century on Peachtree Street in Midtown, but nothing compares to the drama of destruction currently playing out in the space.

Instagram photos posted by an account likely belonging to Victor W. Smith, the director of production for the Alliance, highlight the demolition within the Woodruff Arts Center.

The work is clearing the way for a transformational renovation to give new life to the 1960s-era venue.

Plans for the eye-popping renovation bubbled up nearly two years ago. Since, more details have been revealed about the sinuous new wood interior.

A $38-million grant, secured back in 2014, jump-started the process of what will ultimately be a $110-million initiative to include the theater renovation, new learning spaces, pre-performance spaces, and more inviting public spaces for visitors, as well as endowments and funding for an array of programs.

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.

The Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame will be featured in the new book titled Integrating Innovation in Architecture: Design, Methods and Technology for Progressive Practice and Research.

The book, published by John Wiley & Sons, is set to be released on March 20, 2017.

Synopsis:

Today’s design professionals are faced with challenges on all fronts. They need not only to keep in step with rapid technological changes and the current revolution in design and construction processes, but to lead the industry. This means actively seeking to innovate through design research, raising the bar in building performance and adopting advanced technologies in their practice. In a constant drive to improve design processes and services, how is it possible to implement innovations? And, moreover, to assimilate them in such a way that design, methods and technologies remain fully integrated?

Focusing on innovations in architecture, this book covers new materials and design methods, advances in computational design practices, innovations in building technologies and construction techniques, and the integration of research with design. Moreover, it discusses strategies for integrating innovation into design practices, risks and economic impacts. Through numerous case studies, it illustrates how innovations have been implemented on actual architectural projects, and how design and technical innovations are used to improve building performance, as well as design practices in cutting-edge architectural and engineering firms.

Projects of all scales and building types are discussed in the book, ranging from small-scale installations, academic and commercial buildings to large-scale mixed-use, healthcare, civic, academic, scientific research and sports facilities. Work from design firms around the globe and of various scales is discussed in the book, including for example Asymptote Architecture, cepezed, CO Architects, Consarc Architects, FAAB Architektura, Gerber Architekten, HOK, IDOM-ACXT, MAD Architects, Morphosis Architects, SDA | Synthesis Design + Architecture, Studiotrope, Perkins+Will, Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés, Snøhetta, Rob Ley Studio, Trahan Architects, UNStudio and Zaha Hadid Architects, among many others.

The Owensboro-Daviess Convention Center ArchDaily feature highlights the project’s cultural and contextual importance.

Owensboro is the county seat of Daviess County in north-central Kentucky. Originally part of Shawnee territory, settlers first arrived there in the 1700s. The city played an important role in the Civil War era and served as a key river port that continues to this day. The city’s environs also gave birth to the Bluegrass sound in American music, starting in the 1930s and 1940s. Numerous festivals are held in the downtown area, including the National Barbecue Festival and many national and regional amateur sports competitions.

The site of the new Owensboro-Daviess County Convention Center on the Ohio River bank was previously occupied by the Executive Inn which accommodated performances by many of the most popular singers of its era. To serve this wide range of activities, programs and events, as well as to provide an important economic development tool, the city undertook the development of a new convention center which includes over 40,000 ft² of exhibition space, nearly 30,000 ft² of meeting space and extensive public lobbies, as well as service and support facilities.

Organized on two levels with the halls at grade and the meeting and banquet facilities above, the complex acts as a beacon on the River, signaling the extraordinary ambitions of this community. The exhibition halls and meeting facilities are distinguished by views out to the River while the lobbies overlook the historic downtown.

Trey Trahan presents his lecture titled “Nursing Log: Snapshots of an Evolving Practice” at the 2016 AIA Omaha Lecture Series.

Victor F. “Trey” Trahan, III, FAIA, is Founder and CEO of Trahan Architects. Driven by a strong personal belief in conservation and philanthropy, his life work is guided by a commitment to the development of sustainable environments.

The firm’s portfolio demonstrates a wide range of building types and scales, including academic, cultural, ecclesiastic, residential, commercial, mixed-use and urban projects throughout the US and overseas. The firm has won over 75 national, regional, and local awards along with several international design competitions, receiving widespread recognition for their innovative use of materials. The firm’s work has been published in more than 40 countries.

Watch the full lecture.

The Alliance Theatre Transformation has been featured on ArchDaily.

Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center has tapped Trahan Architects to lead the renovation of the Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre. A cornerstone member of the Woodruff Arts campus, which is also home to Richard Meier’s High Museum and museum expansions by Renzo Piano, the project will include a complete transformation of the Alliance Stage, theater rehearsal spaces, education spaces and support facilities. Selected from a competition of over 30 firms, Trahan’s design will be the first major renovation for the theatre since its construction in 1968.

Led by Trahan Architects founder Victor F. “Trey” Trahan and partner Leigh Breslau, the design of the 650-seat Alliance Theatre focuses on patron experience, fostering connectivity within the audience chamber; between performer and patron, and among the patrons themselves.

Principal Trey Trahan explains, “We should be thinking about a space that celebrates equality of each person and the diversity of Atlanta. We created a theater that responded to that elevated participation from the public.”

This is done by breaking the standard vertical threshold of a theatre – blurring the distinction between levels through sensuous wood forms and minimizing the separation between the orchestra and balcony levels. Comfortable seating linked with cascading staircases and terraces will place the audience closer to the stage, and accessible seating will be available on multiple levels, including areas in the center of the house not typically designated for wheelchair bound patrons. The result is a space that will feel intimate and inviting.