Archinect - News

Trahan Architects adds 25 years and a slate of new improvements to New Orleans' historic Superdome

2024-11-06T15:29:00-05:00

With the upcoming 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina on the horizon for 2025, the new interior renovations by Trahan Architects to one of its tragic epicenters—the historic Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana—is an important project to highlight following the completion of work in September of this year.

The extension of an initial engagement, which began in the immediate aftermath of the storm, the latest commission authored a full interior renovation meant to improve accessibility, the fan experience, wayfinding, operational efficiency, and the team facilities for the city’s beloved New Orleans Saints NFL franchise.

Image © Tim Hursley

The project, which was carried out in phases from 2020 on until the start of this year's football season, reconfigures perimeter concessions areas while installing a series of new atrium volumes that ease the speed of access to upper-level guest suites.

Image © Tim Hursley

"The ingenuity of the original design enabled us to think beyond ...

Trahan Architects unveils U.S. pavilion design for Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai

2024-02-08T15:06:00-05:00

Trahan Architects has unveiled its USA Pavilion design for World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. The county’s official entry will play host to a slate of exhibitions designed to showcase American scientific exploration and entrepreneurship and will be completed by an official project team that includes HOOD Design, Dot Dash, and several other specialty studios.

Chicago's former Mayor and the current U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel, says it will stand as "an embodiment of American spirit." Organizers are expecting approximately 30 million visitors.

Image: © Trahan Architects

Visitors will pass through a ringed wall that surrounds the Expo before entering the pavilion, which is separated into two wings that are connected via a suspended cubic form serving as a skybridge.

Image: © Trahan Architects

Exterior LED screens installed on its facade will broadcast scenes of America’s urban and natural landscapes. The project reuses steel, HVAC systems, and tensile fabric used in structures o...

Trahan Architects to design a new performing arts center for the Asian American Resource Center in Austin

2022-03-18T19:56:00-04:00

The Asian American Resource Center (AARC) of Austin, Texas is getting an artistic new addition thanks to a design from Trahan Architects.

The New York and New Orleans-based firm was selected to envision a new performing arts space for the center, which will come in the form of two dueling 200- and 400-seat theaters housed within a singular structure on the AARC’s campus in northeast Austin.

Trahan’s design places the arts space next to the existing AARC facility on a 15-acre site at the nexus of Cameron Road and Clear Creek Drive.

Site plan of the planned Performing Arts Center at the Asian American Resource Center. Image courtesy the City of Austin

“[We] feel privileged to be working on such an important cultural project which will enrich the lives of the Asian American community members in Austin and its surrounding areas,” Managing Principal Kevin Thomas said in a statement. “The firm is well-positioned to do this meaningful work by approaching the design to ensure diverse commun...

Trahan Architects begins construction on a new chapel for Loyola University in New Orleans

2021-06-21T15:37:00-04:00

Ground was broken last week for an immaculate new chapel at Loyola University in New Orleans.

The naturalistic modern sanctuary by Trahan Architects will sit at the heart of the university’s Audubon campus and serve as a communal space for Loyola’s 16,000 students.

Containing a series of smaller circles connected in a ring to the larger circular design of the chapel, the 5,000-square-foot sacred space brings together natural light and cast-in-place concrete in a variegated composition with views of an adjacent live oak tree that offers worshippers a thoughtful reflection on the natural world.

The new church's 120-seat interior. Image: Trahan Architects

“A faith that does justice is core to a Loyola education, and this new space will be transformative for our Jesuit Catholic mission,” Rev. Justin Daffron, Loyola University’s Vice President of Mission & Identity, said in a statement.

The firm was able to complete its design concept via a series of pandemic-induced backyard experiment...

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels reveal design for Luther George Park Masterplan and Performance Pavilion

2020-12-17T15:25:00-05:00

Trahan Architects and Spackman Mossop Michaels have revealed their design for the renewal of Luther George Park located in downtown Springdale, Arkansas. Commissioned by the Downtown Springdale Alliance, the park is a part of the city's larger plan to create dynamic public spaces and plazas that can support public art, performing arts, and seasonal outdoor markets.

"The Downtown Springdale Alliance is thrilled with the work of the design team of Spackman Mossop Michaels and Trahan Architects. Luther George Park redesigned will be transformative to the beautiful, diverse culture and vibrancy of downtown Springdale," said Jill Dabbs, executive director of The Downtown Springdale Alliance, in a statement.

The 14-acre park will facilitate community engagement by providing a sustainable venue for recreation, play, and outdoor performance. The design draws its inspiration from the native landscapes of Arkansas. Two-hundred new trees will be introduced to the site, providing shade for the...

The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum blurs the boundaries between landscape and architecture

2020-11-18T12:31:00-05:00

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts has approved a new Concept Design for the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum. Designed by Reed Hilderbrand and Trahan Architects, the new design builds on the concept of an immersive and cohesive garden experience, heightening the connectedness to the museum's extensive collection of some of the finest trees and viewing stones from across the globe.

The museum's program will be organized around a central court to orient the visitor to a network of paths that lead to the four exhibitions, expanded classroom, and administrative services. Instead of buildings, each exhibition was conceived as separate gardens that sit within the larger surrounding landscape of the museum.

"The legacy of global cultural exchange through horticulture takes on an important meaning today in Washington," said Founding Principal of Reed Hilderbrand Douglas Reed, FASLA, RAAR in a statement. "We have sought to elevate a world-class collection, mak...

Trahan Architects Release Short Film of Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame and Regional History Museum

2015-02-24T13:35:00-05:00

Spirit of Space, in collaboration with Trahan Architects, has created a short film featuring the award-winning design of the Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame and Regional History Museum in Natchitoches, Louisiana. The museum was recently awarded the prestigious 2015 AIA Institute Honor Award and will be honored at the upcoming AIA National Convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

From Spirit of Space:

The Louisiana State Sports Hall of Fame and Regional History Museum, designed by Trahan Architects, evokes the past as much as it signals the future. Set in the oldest settlement in the Louisiana Purchase, the museum employs 21st century technology to execute a design language inspired by the carving and scouring of the nearby Cane River and the historic architecture of Natchitoches.

The film carries viewers past the historic district's references, around the pleated copper façade and into the sculpted interior. The cast stone panels define a fluid pathway that flows around, up and through th...