New Orleans Architecture City Guide: 18 Sites to Empower New Generations

New Orleans Architecture City Guide: 18 Sites to Empower New Generations

Home to architectural styles spanning almost three hundred years, the is no city like New Orleans. The meld of French, Spanish, and Caribbean architectural influences, in conjunction with the demands of the hot and humid climate, has impacted the urban fabric as much as the culture itself. Located along the Mississippi River and close to the Gulf of Mexico coast, the construction of ports, NOLA’s trading history, and forceful natural phenomena like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 illustrate how water has shaped the city.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Orleans adapted its values to respond to the changing needs of its recovering community. Although reconstruction is not only architectural responsibility, New Orleans public architecture has contributed to revitalizing and reinhabiting the city after the disaster. Museums, parks, and churches, each of these places connects people to each other in ways that define and support community.

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Showcasing contemporary and modernist icons, the following 18 projects were built in New Orleans for diverse community resources and to empower new generations toward a city for everyone.

The Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life | VJAA

Hollygrove Greenline Shade-Water Pavilion | Tulane School of Architecture

Alligator | buildingstudio

L.B. Landry High School | Eskew+Dumez+Ripple

Bastion Community Housing | OJT

Louisiana Children’s Museum at City Park | Mithun

The National WWII Museum | Voorsanger Mathes LLC

Crescent Park | Eskew+Dumez+Ripple

The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden | Lee Ledbetter Architects and Sawyer/Berson Architecture

Piazza d’Italia | Charles Moore

Automotive Life Insurance | Curtis and Davis architects

The Shop at CAC | Eskew+Dumez+Ripple

Pecos County Safety Rest Area | Richter Architects

Yulman Stadium at Tulane University | Multistudio

Holy Rosary Church Complex | Trahan Architects

St. Pius Chapel and Prayer Garden | Eskew+Dumez+Ripple

At Baton Rouge, 1h 30m away from New Orleans

Magnolia Mound Turner Family Visitors Center | Trahan Architects

Louisiana State Museum and Sports Hall of Fame | Trahan Architects

You can visit our list of City Guides here.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published on October 05, 2022.