re c e n t p ro j e c t s
TULANE CITY CENTER RECENT PROJECTS INDEX PAGE
CONTENT/PROJECT
02 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 40 41
What We Do and How We Do It LOOP Pavilion Magellan Street Garden Guardians Institute, Donald Harrison Sr. Museum St. Claude Main Street Pocket Park Pyramid Wellness Institute Pyramid Graphic Advocacy Campaign Grow Dat Youth Farm Hollygrove Greenline German Schoolhouse Redevelopment Parisite Skatepark Bayou Road Lower Ninth Ward Food Action Plan Columbus Greenway Initiative Project Home by Hand Hagar’s House Project Ish Map of Projects Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative Ride New Orleans Transit Advocacy Lusher Playground Improvements Vacant Land Management Greenbuild 1 Eco Pavilion Sustainable Exhibition Lower Nine Visioning Coalition Facade Renew Mardi Gras Indian Cultural Arts Plan AL Davis Park Hollygrove Market and Farm Hope Haven and Cafe Hope CITYbuild Consortium of Schools Cornerstones: Candlelight Lounge Backstreet Cultural Museum Circle Food Store Community Partner Perspectives: Tony Lee TCC: What’s Next Contact/Get Involved
What We Do The Tulane City Center’s mission is to educate, advocate and provide design services to New Orleans neighborhoods and non-profit clients who are traditionally under-resourced and underserved by the design disciplines. We believe in the necessity of design and its broad access by all citizens as a basic democratic right. As a result, our work is characterized by deep citizen engagement in the planning and design decisions that will affect their lives. How We Do It As the principal venue for outreach projects at the Tulane School of Architecture, the Tulane City Center (TCC) enjoys a broad range of partnerships with numerous off-campus community-based organizations. Each partnership provides opportunities for faculty and students to engage real issues in the community and to participate in the life of our city. Projects range in scale from small neighborhood gathering spaces to urban scale neighborhood planning processes. The Tulane City Center works in both private and public spaces and always recognizes the importance of thinking beyond the scale of the individual project.
TULANE CITY CENTER
Tulane City Center Staff: Maurice Cox, Director Dan Etheridge, Senior Consultant Nick Jenisch, Project Manager Dozenia Marshall, Administrative Assistant Jenga Mwendo, Community Consultant Emilie Taylor, Design Build Manager
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Our projects are conducted either as courses for which students receive credit or as design internships for which students receive pay for their work. The ability to set up projects in multiple ways allows for flexibility in working with the budget and the schedule of our community partners, often outside of the traditional semester calendar. The Tulane City Center has a small core staff who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Center and for all project management. Using this model, we are able to assemble projectbased design teams of faculty and students based on our workload at any given time. In addition to project management, our core staff is responsible for fundraising, community outreach, strategic planning, and coordination with faculty and students and the Tulane School of Architecture curriculum. The recent and active projects highlighted in the following pages include the names of all the faculty and students involved in each project. Please visit our website for additional project information (www.tulanecitycenter.org)
AR
PL
DB
Project Types
Typical Team Composition
ARCHITECTURE
1 3 1
PLANNING
1 4 2
DESIGN BUILD
2 14 1
faculty
faculty
faculty
GA
CB
GRAPHIC ADVOCACY COMMUNITY CAPACITY BUILDING
students
students
students
Percentage of all Projects
38 %
consultants
consultants
consultants
16 % 28 %
1 2 0 8% 1 4 1 10 % faculty
students
consultants
faculty
students
consultants
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LOOP PAVILION The Fall 2013 Engage.Design.Build studio worked with community partner LOOP [Louisiana Outdoor Outreach Program] to design and construct a shade pavilion for use during the group’s programs on Scout Island. LOOP engages students in outdoor education programs through adventure-based activities on their challenge course in City Park. City Park and the staff of LOOP reached out to the TCC when they recognized a need for program expansion and support. Their current site is difficult to access and far from any seating, storage or shaded gathering spaces. A new pavilion would allow LOOP to provide better, safer programs for the students with whom they work and allow revenue generating options by attracting professional groups to use the course. After engaging LOOP staff to assess needs, students designed a shade pavilion that incorporates storage and seating into a large shade structure used for gathering before and after challenge course activities. The design is inspired by the tree canopy surrounding the challenge course. It uses blank aluminum traffic signs as a modular, exterior grade unit to create an abstracted, highperforming canopy overhead. In keeping with the context of the adjacent ropes course structure, the canopy is suspended with steel cable from a larger steel structure in a way that creates an undulating complex curve. The seating is built into an earth berm created by reusing railroad ties from the St. Charles Ave. streetcar line. Location: Scout Island, City Park Project Leads: Emilie Taylor, Sam Richards Project Team: Dan Ackerley, Madison Baker, Casey Bemis, Michelle Carroll, Rachel Conques, Jose Cotto, John Coyle, Maggie Easley, Ellen Hearle, Emma Jasinki, Kate Luxner, Sarah Satterlee, Meredith Zelenka
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Partnering Organization: LOOP, New Orleans City Park Special Thanks: Dash Lumber, Regional Transit Authority, Walter Zehner
MAGELLAN STREET GARDEN Magellan Street Garden is a community garden in Algiers led by Tony Lee, a retired electrician, veteran, and founder and Lead Gardener of the Parkway Partners Community Garden. The Tulane City Center sponsored Design Build studio worked with Tony to design and construct a shade structure that collects rainwater and uses it to feed a constructed wetland on site. The structure also houses raised beds, tool storage, and ground cover strategies to support Tony’s aim for a community resource and teaching space. Led by Tulane faculty Doug Harmon and Sam Richards, a team of 12 students worked on the design and fabrication of the garden in a 12-week spring Engage.Design.Build studio. Work began in January and was completed in May of 2013. The team devised a kit-of-parts strategy which enabled them to build the roof structure, planters, and benches at the school’s shop and then transport them in one moving day. Funded through a grant from the Surdna Foundation, the garden design serves as a demonstration of rainwater collection and onsite water management strategies. Location: 3320 Magellan Street, Algiers Project Leads: Doug Harmon, Sam Richards advising professors; Dan Etheridge, Emilie Taylor, TCC leads Project Team: Sarah Cumming, Michelle Finan, Elisha Grossman, Annelise Haskell, Kristen Korndoerfer, James Lacroix, Katlyn Leach, Gregory Mathieu, William Nemitoff, Devin Reynolds, Kyle Ryan, Fan Xiong Cecil Howell, Landscape Architect, Walter Zehner, Structural Engineer Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Parkway Partners Website: See “Magellan Street Garden” Facebook page See page 38 for the community partner Tony Lee’s persepective on the project
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GUARDIANS INSTITUTE The Guardians Institute and the Tulane City Center have built the Donald Harrison Sr. Museum, a performance and multipurpose space in the Upper 9th Ward. The Guardians Institute is dedicated to preserving, promoting and celebrating African and African American tradition and culture. The organization advances youth development in New Orleans by promoting literacy, physical well-being and indigenous cultural arts. This multifunctional outdoor covered space includes seating, restrooms, dressing space, and basic amenities. The space is used for Mardi Gras Indian performances, community-oriented programing, and as a support space for the Guardians Literacy Program. The Guardians of the Flame design-build project is one of several TCC projects that was initiated in 2010 with the financial support of Johnson Controls, Inc. The Guardians Institute is one of many non-profit organizations in the New Orleans area who responded to our annual Request for Proposals.* Location: Independence Street at N. Johnson (Upper 9th Ward) Project Leads: Scott Ruff, Seth Welty, Emilie Taylor, advising faculty and staff; Zach Lamb, Instructor Project Team: Evan Amato, Alexandra Bojarski-Stauffer, Mary Catherine Bullock, Jerelle Carriere, Michelle Carroll, Noah Conlay, Chris Cox, Sophie Dardant, Matt Decotiis, Alyce Deshotels, Natan Diacon-Furtado, Nels Erickson, Marianne Graffam, Mike Landry, Jake Lazere, Emile Lejeune, Jason Levy, Xiaoyun Li, Mary Beth Luster, Jeremy Maloney, Jordan Matthews, Oren Mitzner, Kathy Mu, Alison Rodberg, Cameron Ringness, Nicholas Sackos, Sarah Satterlee, Justin Siragusa, Nichole Woggon
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Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Guardians Institute, Alembic Development Company Special Thanks To: Dash Lumber, James Hardie, Simpson Strong Ties, Yellawood, Walter Zehner Website: http://guardiansinstitute.org *For more information about the Request for Proposals process, visit: www.tulanecitycenter.org
ST. CLAUDE MAIN STREET POCKET PARK In support of the burgeoning arts and cultural community in a particular neighborhood, St. Claude Main Street (SCMS) applied for and received a major grant from ArtPlace, a national foundation whose mission is to support “creative place making� initiatives that increase community vibrancy. The Tulane City Center gathered community input about the desired uses and ideas for the space over the spring and summer of 2013. The team then used that community input to design a pocket park at the corner of St. Claude and Independence that will double as a space for the monthly SCMS night market. The pocket park is along a major commercial corridor in the city, one of several projects SCMS has initiated to improve the streetscape. The park includes spaces for relaxing, gathering, gardening, and playing horseshoes and defines these through a series of low decks and earthen mounds. The park also includes infrastructure for the night market and is flexible enough to accommodate other activities. The project has received HDLC approval and is currently under construction.
Location: St. Claude Avenue at Independence Street Project Lead: Thaddeus Zarse, advising professor; Emilie Taylor, TCC lead Project Team: Gregory Mathieu, TCC Intern; Matt Ngo, Logan Leggett Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, St. Claude Main Street, Project Homecoming Website: http://stclaude.org
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PYRAMID WELLNESS INSTITUTE This Engage.Design.Build studio studied the issues surrounding mental illness in New Orleans through the lens of a specific project: the Pyramid Resources Wellness Institute (PRWI). Located in Mid City, PRWI provides treatment services for persons in the greater New Orleans area who are homeless or have mental illness or co-occurring substance use and mental illness. The project partner provides housing assistance and intensive individualized support services under the direction of a treatment team consisting of psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical staff, nurses, support professionals, case managers, and others as needed. The studio team worked with the staff and residents of the Pyramid House to redesign their common outdoor space into an area that can adapt to the multiple needs of the residents: a space that provides a calming outdoor area for Pyramid clients and staff and can accomodate group meetings, outdoor dining, conflict resolution, and other activities. The team worked with the staff and residents of Pyramid to include compents of the space that the residents designed and helped to construct. For example, the backdrop of the stage space is a driftwood wall constructed from material collected during a group outing and inscribed with quotes from the residents. Pyramid Wellness responded to the TCC’s annual call for Proposals and their project is funded through a Johnson Controls, Inc gift.* Location: 3330 Canal Street Project Leads: Abigail Feldman, Sam Richards, Emilie Taylor, advising professors Project Team: Steven Baker, Victoria Bryant, Jose Cotto, Katherine Delacey, Hunter Duplantier, Gage Edwards, Rena Foster, Emily Green, Charlotte Hutton, Baha Javadi, Whitney Jordan, Leslie Katz, Michael Kirschner, Sarah Knapp, Jacob McGregor, Kevin Michniok, Danielle Musselman, Alison Rodberg, Risa Schoenfeld, Guan Wang, Grant Whittaker, William Zink
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Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Pyramid Resources Wellness Institute Website: www.pyramidnola.org *For more information about the Request for Proposals process, visit: www.tulanecitycenter.org
PYRAMID GRAPHIC ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN One in six people in the City of New Orleans has a mental illness. While a growing number of people are seeking mental wellness, there has been a dramatic decrease in funds for mental health care both at state and federal levels. While working on a design-build project with Pyramid Wellness, a mental health treatment facility in Mid City, a small team of students began working on a campaign to raise awareness of this issue and provide a community resource. The team produced a series of posters, postcards, magnets, stickers, and newspaper ads, all with the same message, aimed at people struggling with mental illness and their families. The resource card listing local treatment providers also lets people know that they are not alone in dealing with the issues. The team has started a series of distribution days over the summer to place the resources in corner stores, shelters, and coffee shops throughout the city.
Project Lead: Emilie Taylor, advising professor Project Team: Baha Javardi, Jose Cotto, Alison Rodberg, Emily Green Consultants: Candy Chang, Christine Gaspar of the Center for Urban Pedagogy Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Pyramid Resources Wellness Institute Website: www.pyramidnola.org/1-in-6/
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GROW DAT YOUTH FARM The Grow Dat Youth Farm’s mission is to nurture a diverse group of young leaders through the meaningful work of growing food. On the farm, work is done collaboratively to produce healthy food for local residents and to inspire youth and adults to create personal, social and environmental change in their own communities. Grow Dat is a place where people from different backgrounds and disciplines come together in research and practice to support public health, local economies and a sustainable food system in South Louisiana. The Grow Dat Youth Farm project has grown out of the strong partnership between the Tulane City Center, the New Orleans Food and Farm Network, and City Park. The Tulane City Center lead site planning and design development and incubated Grow Dat as a non-profit organization. Grow Dat’s pilot year was launched at Hollygrove Market and Farm in January 2011. In the Spring of 2012, farming at the permanent site at City Park began, and the Grow Dat Organization moved into their seven acre City Park campus in the Fall of 2012. Building on the existing K-8th grade food education programs in New Orleans, most notably the Edible Schoolyard, Grow Dat Youth Farm creates job opportunities for high school students in the field of urban agriculture. The farm provides a space for students outside the classroom to apply the interests and skills they have developed in cooking and gardening classes. It also creates a healthy and supportive work environment for high school-aged youth from New Orleans who face limited job opportunities. With a focus on developing a sense of responsibility, community, environmental stewardship, and service among participants, the farm enhances leadership and teamwork abilities through the collaborative work of growing food.
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The farm works with several high schools and youth organizations throughout New Orleans to recruit a diverse and committed group of youth who develop leadership and life skills during their intensive, hands-on work experience. Programmatic success is defined by students’ consistent participation in the program, their increased ability to communicate effectively with other students and staff, and their ability to achieve production goals on the farm.
Grow Dat Design: The Grow Dat Youth Farm’s seven acre site was designed and built by a team of architecture students over the course of three semesters. The Grow Dat campus includes a classroom space, offices, a kitchen, cold storage, food prep, and additional support spaces. These spaces are created with and defined by repurposed shipping containers, a common industrial product in our port city.The campus is designed to have minimal impact on the site, and there is a comprehensive water management plan which includes a large swale, grey water filtration tanks, and composting toilets. Location: 150 Zachary Taylor Drive, New Orleans City Park Program Team: Johanna Gilligan, Leo Gorman, Jabari Brown, Jeanne Firth, Macon Fry Project Leads: Scott Bernhard, Dan Etheridge, Abigail Feldman, Zach Lamb, Sam Richards, Emilie Taylor, Seth Welty, advising faculty and staff Project Team: Mira Asher, Zin Min Aye, Steven Baker, Hee Cho, Sophie Dardant, Matt Decotiis, Rachel Finkelstein, Sean Fisher, Patrick Franke, Marianne Graffam, Seneca Gray, Ellen Hailey, Katie Healey, Natalia Hidalgo, Jade Jiambutr, Lindsey Kiefer, Mike Landry, Emile LeJeune, Vicky Leung, Sam Levin, Jason Levy, Marda Lugar, Mary Beth Luster, Jeremy Maloney, Rebecca Miller, Oren Mitzner, Ian O’Cain, Ellanny Page, Justin Park, Robert Pekara, Fernando Polo, Allison Powell, Cameron Ringness, Julie Sanders, Allison Schiller, Justin Siragusa, Christopher Tellone, Ana Lucia Teran, William Trakas, Claire Tritschler, Erin Vaughn, Nichole Woggon, Brad Watson, Michael Welsh, Jen Wickham Project Partners: Tulane City Center, City Park New Orleans, New Orleans Food and Farm Network, Johanna Gilligan: Clean Plate Projects, Tulane Social Entrepreneurship Initiative Special Thanks to: John and Anne Mullen, Maziar Behrooz, Stephanie and David Barksdale, Dash Lumber, Walter Zehner, Big Ass Fans Awards: 2012 SEED Award for Excellence in Public Interest Design, AIA Honor Award Published: Architectural Record, Times-Picayune, Grist, ArchDaily Website: http://www.growdatyouthfarm.org/
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HOLLYGROVE GREENLINE The Hollygrove Greenline is an initiative of the Carrollton-Hollygrove Community Development Corporation (CHCDC) to convert the vacant diagonal lots of a former rail line cutting through the Hollygrove neighborhood to a public amenity.The CHCDC is currently raising funds to implement the design vision completed by the Tulane City Center in partnership with the neighborhood. Students of the Tulane School of Architecture conducted design analysis at the Greenline site and created a diverse series of designs that investigated the history of the site and the community’s desire for active, programmed open space, and introduced landscaping to help make the site a pleasant, occupiable public space to be enjoyed by Hollygrove residents and adjacent neighborhoods. Final designs are undergoing detailed cost analysis and construction on Phase 1 begins in 2014. The CHCDC strives to provide educational programming as part of its mission to develop the Greenline site.The City Center has contributed to this process in several ways, including installation of demonstration rain gardens at five locations throughout the neighborhood. The CHCDC has engaged with the Greenline owner, the Sewerage & Water Board, and will maintain a close working relationship to meet the goals of providing educational programming with water management, urban agriculture, and other related topics. Location: Hollygrove Neighborhood Project Leads: Judith Kinnard, FAIA, advising professor; Dan Etheridge, Nick Jenisch, TCC leads Project Team: Dorothy Shepard, Zachary Gong, Michael Cohen, Scott Mikawa, TCC Interns
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Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Carrollton-Hollygrove Community Development Corporation, New Orleans Food and Farm Network, Hollygrove Market & Farm, AARP, Hollygrove Neighborhood Association, Trinity Christian Community, Engineers Without Borders, Longue-Vue House & Gardens, Dana Brown & Associates, Surdna Foundation
GERMAN SCHOOLHOUSE REDEVELOPMENT The German Schoolhouse redevelopment project is a vision of the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership and Demetri Melekos, founder of US Heritage Powersports (US-HP), a motorcycle production and export company.The renovation of the German Schoolhouse into a facility for the assembly of Von Dutch Custom Choppers brings jobs, education and industry into the city of New Orleans. Located at 1831 Polymnia Street in the Central City neighborhood, the German Schoolhouse is a three story brick warehouse with high ceilings, cast iron columns, and an open floor plan. Beautifully detailed but long abandoned, the building is one of several local remnants of the bustling commercial corridor that once defined this historic neighborhood along Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard, formerly Dryades Street. As a registered Benefit Corporation (B Corp), US-HP is held to high standards of social responsibility.The Tulane City Center worked with US-HP to produce a feasibility study for the German Schoolhouse renovation project and a visioning document to help Melekos share his vision for this new addition to the Central City neighborhood. In addition to housing the US-HP production floor, the German Schoolhouse has ample room to accommodate a variety of uses, including a storefront retail space, administration offices, research and development, and a flexible third floor for potential small business incubation in related fields. Location: Polymnia St. and OC Haley Blvd. Project Leads: Giovana Galfione, advising professor; Maurice Cox, TCC lead Project Team: Elizabeth Himmel, TCC Intern
Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, US Heritage Powersports, Gulf Coast Housing Partnership
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PARISITE SKATEPARK Parisite Skatepark (named after its proximity to Paris Ave.) was started by a group of skaters who took advantage of the vacant, under-utilized space beneath the I-610 overpass as a makeshift skatepark. With growing popularity, this informal public space drew the attention of city officials who questioned the legal implications of operating such a recreational space. The skaters formed a Louisiana nonprofit corporation, called Transitional Spaces, and began negotiations with City Hall to save the park. Since then, Parisite Skatepark has been officially recognized by the City, which designated the area under I-610 between Paris and Hamburg Street as a “Skatepark Recreation Area.� Transitional Spaces is dedicated to designing and implementing quality public skate parks that focus on safe recreation and educational opportunities for youth. Parisite is now the first official skatepark in the City of New Orleans. The Tulane City Center is working with the Transitional Spaces team to expand and improve the skatepark. In addition to creating a masterplan for growth, as well as a plan for capacity building of the non-profit, TCC is helping Parisite connect to legal, engineering, and other professional support neccessary to grow Parisite into a fully operational public space. An Engage.Design.Build studio is masterplanning and building components of the park in the spring semester of 2014. This project is made possible by a grant from the Surdna Foundation and Johnson Controls, Inc. Location: Paris Avenue at Interstate 610 Project Leads: Doug Harmon, Matt Decotiis, advising professors; Emilie Taylor, TCC lead Project Team: Carly Epler, Tara Jean, Colleen Loughlin, Tatyana Moraczewski, Matt Ngo, Caitlin Parker, Ian Rosenfield, Sanaa Shaikh, Alfia White, Grant Whittaker, Emily Youngblood
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Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Transitional Spaces, the City of New Orleans, New Orleans Recreation Department Special Thanks to: Anne Frederick of Hester Street Collaborative
Food gotta be fresh. Nothing is fried except the plantains. Everything is cut by hand... and grilled, stewed, or baked.
The Bayou Road neighborhood is known by many for its unique collection of small businesses, its fascinating history, and most importantly, for the sense of community, the culture, and the food. Although a small corridor, there is plenty to do when taking a stroll through Bayou Road – take in some world class art, get your hair styled or cut, enjoy some great music, or eat some of the most authentic Caribbean food in the city! Come on by and check out the many businesses and cultural establishments that we have listed and visit our website for the latest information and upcoming events.
2521 Bayou Road | 504.942.5625
Shirley Honore’s Love Center Learning Academy 2519 Bayou Road | 504.943.1221
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Poche Construction
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Bayou Equity Mortgage
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- Sula Janet Evans, King & Queen Emporium
2511 Bayou Road | 504.875.4018
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We are more than just a cultural store, we’re a catalyst for social change. We convey a message to the people... we represent change by standing there and being there.
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Look At Me Now Hair Studio 2511 Bayou Road | 504.218.3311
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The Aftermath Barber and Beauty Salon
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Nail Studio
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Petiquette
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2563 Bayou Road (upstairs) | 504.948.0406
I’m four generations of the Mardi Gras Indian... I am a cultural ambassador... I’m a story teller. I can tell you stories about stuff in this city.
2563 Bayou Road (downstairs) | 504.942.7172 1474 N Broad St | 504.947.3032
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World Deli
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McHardy’s Chicken & Fixin’
2565 Bayou Road | 504.944.3343
Cajun King
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Washboard Coffee
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REDSTAR Galerie
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Katrina National Memorial Museum
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Big Chief David Montana’s House
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Kruttschnett Place - ‘Shotgun Temple’
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American Federation of Musicians
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Joan Mitchell Center
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Art House
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Degas House
2514 Bayou Road | 504.945.1515 1430 N Dorgenois St | 504.XXX.XXXX 2513 Bayou Road | 504.606.2670
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1458 N Broad St | 504.949.0000
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- Big Chief David Montana
1468 N Broad St | 504.944.3001
Le Musee de f.p.c.
Broadview Seafood
2336 Esplanade Ave. | 504.233.0384
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Le Musée de f.p.c., a historic house museum, is one of the country’s few attractions dedicated exclusively to preserving the material culture of and telling to the story of free people of color. The founders of this repository strive through their collection of documents, paintings and decorative arts to present, interpret and preserve the history and culture shared by so many free people of African descent in New Orleans and throughout the country.
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2520 Bayou Road | 504. 301.0525
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-Pam “Mother Nature” Thompson, Coco Hut
Beauty on De Bayou
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THROUGH
As Dwana Makeba prepared to open her all-natural beauty salon, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans. She was committed to being in the Bayou Road area because of its history, the character of the old buildings, and the collection of successful women-run businesses on the corridor. Opened in 2006, the salon now has clients that drive from hours away for braiding, cuts, styling services, and Dwana’s own line of all-natural hair products.
take a stroll
We are more than just a cultural store, we’re a catalyst for social change. We convey a message to the people... we represent change by standing there and being there.
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- Sula Janet Evans, King & Queen Emporium
2525 DeSoto Street | 504.810.1399
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Sculpture by Robert Tannen
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2401 Esplanade Ave.| 504.947.1700 2275 Bayou Road | 504.940.2500
2326 Esplanade Avenue | 504.822.8281
After Katrina, people encouraged me to go somewhere else, but I said I’ve got a good location. Bavyou Road has always been known for Reggae... I can’t see the club being anywhere else but here.
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-Al Reece, Club Carribean
2306 Esplanade Avenue | 504. 821.5009
BAYOU ROAD The Bayou Road Commercial Corridor Initiative is a study to better understand the potential for investment in the commercial buildings of historic Bayou Road and to help sustain this vibrant community. One of the first brick roads laid down in New Orleans, today Bayou Road connects several historic neighborhoods. Since the 1980s, this small commercial corridor has become known for its distinctly Afro-Caribbean culture and women owned businesses. A significant group of African-American women business and property owners along the corridor have established a community of women entrepreneurs. TCC was approached by Vera Warren-Williams, owner of the Community Book Center, and Beverly McKenna, founder of the New Orleans Tribune and owner of several Bayou Road properties, to develop a historical narrative of Bayou Road, provide basic design services, and create a graphic identity for the neighborhood. TCC has begun the process by conducting a series of interviews with merchants and community members to gather their memories of Bayou Road, and their vision for the future.These interviews have served as the basis for a neighborhood brochure that introduces the merchants and history of the corridor to visitors. TCC has also been working with Broad Community Connections to establish a web presence for Bayou Road as well as a merchants association.The next steps include working with merchants to draft potential strategies for redevelopment and investment in the neighborhood. This project is made possible by a grant from the Surdna Foundation. Location: Bayou Road, between Broad and Esplanade Project Leads: Scott Ruff, Amber Wiley, advising professors; Dan Etheridge, Maurice Cox, Nick Jenisch, TCC leads; Bethany Rogers, Cornerstones Director Project Team: Jose Cotto,TCC Intern, Sarah Satterlee, graduate research assistant Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Cornerstones, Broad Community Connections, Bayou Road Merchants, Neighborhood Story Project
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LNW FOOD ACTION PLAN The Lower Ninth Ward Food Access Coalition is a group of Lower Ninth Ward community leaders and residents committed to addressing the food access issues of the Lower Ninth Ward, which is considered a “food desert” by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Coalition formed in 2012 from the Food Action Planning Initiative, led by the Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development in an effort to organize Lower 9th Ward residents to create a plan and advocate for access to quality food in their own community. Tulane City Center supported the Coalition’s “Grocery Store For A Day” project in October 2012 – a one day pop-up grocery store set up in the parking lot of a neighborhood church. The purpose of this project was to draw attention to the issue of poor food access in the Lower Ninth Ward, getting more residents involved, as well as the media and government officials. TCC students designed and built temporary walls for the grocery store, developed and printed site maps, and created large-scale signage for the event. When the Food Action Plan document (www.sustainthenine. org/foodactionplan) was completed, TCC helped the Coalition to present the Plan at a roundtable discussion with councilmembers Stacy Head and James Gray, along with several grocery store operators and community leaders.
Location: Lower Ninth Ward Project Leads: Maurice Cox, advising professor; Jenga Mwendo, TCC lead Project Team: Evan Morris, Natan Diacon-Furtado, TCC Interns
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Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Lower Ninth Ward Food Access Coalition, Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
COLUMBUS GREENWAY INITIATIVE The Columbus Greenway Initiative (CGI) is a project led by a diverse coalition of 7th Ward residents and organizations, including the New Orleans Food and Farm Network and the Neighborhood Story Project. The CGI specifically grew out of a partnership between Ms. Pat O’Brian, who owns some vacant parcels along Columbus Street, and a group of men who have been using one of the lots as an informal gathering space. This partnership has demonstrated how neighbors can come together to create vibrant and high functioning green space in a neighborhood where the city does not provide adequate space. Out of this initial partnership, the Tulane City Center has supported the design and installation of the Columbus Street Orchard, added “The Clubhouse” seating/storage/shade structure at the original corner lot, and is developing a series of proposals to support the continued improvement of Columbus Street as a model greenway through bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure enhancements.
Location: Columbus Street, Lakeside of Claiborne (7th Ward) Project Lead: Seth Welty, advising professor; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Jess O’Dell, Sarah Satterlee, Alyssa Kingsley John Dwyer of the University of Minnesota College of Design Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Neighborhood Story Project, Kids Walk Coalition, New Orleans Food and Farm Network
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PROJECT HOME BY HAND Home by Hand is a new take on the self-help housing model path to homeownership aimed at populations who are currently underserved by affordable housing programs in the City of New Orleans. Project Home Again (PHA) has built over 150 three-bedroom two-bath affordable houses in the Gentilly neighborhood since the storm, but has realized that some community members are not reached by typical non-profit organizations and their rebuilding models. In 2013, PHA reached out to the Tulane City Center through the Request for Proposals process* with a request to reimagine housing prototypes aimed at people interested in a hands-on path to homeownership with adaptable housing models. The project involves two phases: research on the history of modernism in Gentilly and self-help housing models across the country, followed by a spring 2014 design phase. The outcome of phase 2 is Schematic Design for four housing prototypes that respond to the program/performative criteria generated by the Project Home Again team. The housing prototypes and PHA’s plans for kicking off their self-help housing program should begin in the spring of 2014.
Location: Gentilly (multiple locations) Project Leads: Andrew Liles, Kentaro Tsubaki, advising professors; Emilie Taylor, TCC lead Project Team: Vincent Baudoin, Amy Ferguson, Andrew Graham, Sam Naylor, Caitlin Sheehan, Gavin West Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Project Home Again *For more information about the Request for Proposals process, visit: www.tulanecitycenter.org
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HAGAR’S HOUSE PROJECT ISH The Tulane City Center worked with Hagar’s House and the First Grace Community Alliance to design and build an outdoor enrichment room for the children living at Hagar’s House. The space, known as Project Ish, includes a playroom and educational space for children transitioning from homelessness to a stable living situation. The project involves converting the existing back deck of the shelter into an enclosed, safe, multifunctional space, which is an extension of the house, situated between the home and the community garden. Fifteen students worked collaboratively on the design of the project with continual input from the residents and staff of Hagar’s House. The compact (400 s.f.) and expressive scheme includes a linear storage wall, a loft playspace, and a butterfly roof which collects rainwater to be used in the adjacent community garden. The project was designed and built in the fall of 2010 over the course of a 13-week studio. Project Ish at Hagar’s House is one of several projects that the Tulane City Center initiated in 2010 with the help of an anonymous donor. First Grace Community Alliance was one of many non-profit organizations in the New Orleans area who responded to our annual Request for Proposals.* Location: Restricted Project Lead: Emilie Taylor, advising professor Project Team: Cristina Alvarado, Laura Casaccio, Veronica Cordova, Daniel Demeules, Laura DiIorio, Joshua Frederick, Cassandra Gibbs, Ross Kelley, Oren Mitzner, Samantha Nourse, Justin Park, J. Cameron Ringness, Justin Siragusa, Eric Sullivan, Michael Visintainer Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Hagar’s House, First Grace Community Alliance Website: www.hagarshousenola.org *For more information about the Request for Proposals process, visit: www.tulanecitycenter.org
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page project number name 04 LOOP Pavilion 05 Magellan Street Garden 06 Guardians Institute 07 St. Claude Pocket Park 08 Pyramid Wellness Institute 10 Grow Dat Youth Farm 12 Hollygrove Greenline 13 German Schoolhouse Redevelopment 14 Parisite Skatepark 15 Bayou Road 16 Lower Ninth Ward Food Action Plan 17 Columbus Greenway Initiative 18 Project Home by Hand [multiple locations] 19 Hagar’s House Project Ish [location restricted] 20 MAP 22 Jane Place N.S.I. 23 RNO Transit Advocacy [multiple locations] 24 Lusher Playground Improvements 25 Vacant Land Management [multiple locations] 26 Greenbuild 1 27 Eco Pavillion Sustainable Exhibition 28 Lower Nine Visioning Coalition 29 Facade Renew [multiple locations] 30 Mardi Gras Indian Council 31 AL Davis Park 32 Hollygrove Market and Farm + Pavilion 33 Hope Haven and Cafe Hope 34 CityBuild Consortium of Schools [multiple locations] 35 Cornerstones: Candlelight Lounge 38 Backstreet Cultural Museum 39 Circle Food Store 40 TCC Satellite Office 41 TCC New Office Site see www.tulanecitycenter.org for other project desciptions and locations
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JANE PLACE NSI Established as a non-profit housing and community development organization in 2008, Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative (JPNSI) is committed to creating sustainable, democratic, and economically just neighborhoods and communities. Utilizing the Community Land Trust (CLT) model of land stewardship and shared equity, JPNSI works to increase the range of affordable housing options available to low and moderate income residents by encouraging resident controlled development; providing shared-equity models of homeownership, cooperative housing, and rental opportunities; and promoting community-building initiatives that advance equitable housing patterns, neighborhood stability, and community driven land-use planning. The Tulane City Center and the Tulane School of Architecture Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development program worked with JPNSI to understand the housing options in the two JPNSIowned buildings. A large part of the project involved understanding the legal complexities of cooperative housing and making decisions for the non-profit’s future based on examples of cooperative housing in other cities. The project team traveled to New York City to research precedents. JPNSI is one of many non-profits in the New Orleans area who responded to our annual Request for Proposals.* Alembic Community Development is working with JPNSI to identify funding for the redevelopment of the building. Location: Jane Place Street at Palmyra Street (Mid City) Project Leads: Cordula Roser Gray, Casius Pealer, advising professors; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: John Nelson, Evan Amato, Brian Sulley, Andrew Mayronne
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Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative, Tulane School of Architecture Masters of Sustainable Real Estate Development Program *For more information about the Request for Proposals process, visit: www.tulanecitycenter.org
RNO TRANSIT ADVOCACY This project involved the development of proposals to assist Ride New Orleans, a transit advocacy group, in addressing two issues prominent in the city: the need for a transit hub in the Central Business District (CBD) and the design of transit-centric public space at critical intersections. For the hub, graphic material was developed to illuminate total transit usage in the city, the prominence of specific transportation routes, and the critical interchange between these vital lines in the CBD. Scenarios illustrating the complexity of transfers and the confusion of stops in the area were illustrated to support the argument for aggregating these disparate connection points in a central location. Along with rider survey results conducted by the project sponsor, best practice studies and historic precedents were assembled in a graphically descriptive format to serve as primary material to advocate for a new transit hub in the CBD. Additionally, key intersections were investigated where transfers between multiple routes or modes of transit occur. The work described numerous hazards presented by these transfers and created by the overlap of pedestrian traffic in areas spatially oriented to vehicular modes of travel. Multiple scenarios were developed using transit-centric urban design to reimagine these intersections, from tactical manipulations to intensive realignments of the existing streetscape. The proposals serve as potentials for the chosen intersections but are also strategic designs intended to adapt to similar conditions throughout the city, a model for more transit use within urban space.
Project Leads: Jonathan Tate, Cordula Roser Gray advising professors; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Michelle Carroll, Kathy Mu, Robert Mosby, TCC Interns; Kristian Mizes, Office of Jonathan Tate Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Ride NOLA , RNO Transit Advocacy Website: www.rideneworleans.org
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LUSHER PLAYGROUND IMPROVEMENTS The Lusher Elementary School Willow Street Campus is located Uptown, in the University neighborhood. The pressures of a growing student body, new buildings added over the years to accommodate this growth, and an aging infrastructure have put a strain on the diminished exterior spaces to the point that safety and usability are compromised. While looking to solve the immediate safety and conflicting use concerns, a further discussion was initiated through the Tulane City Center to provide a long term vision for the campus. Through extensive research on best practices and a series of presentations and collaborative meetings with key stakeholders (including neighbors, parents, administrators, and teachers), a plan was devised to guide the long-term reconfiguration of the campus exterior spaces to reflect the School’s mission and accommodate the community needs to provide an inviting, supportive and safe environment. The design of the campus is conceived as two primary outdoor rooms connected by a Linear Central Spine element. The two outdoor rooms wrap the main building and provide dynamic, sunny, informal space for the Lusher community. Other previously considered “left over” spaces around the edges of the campus have also been reclaimed in the design to accommodate new recreational, educational and environmental uses that strengthen connections to both the interior of the school and the wider neighborhood.
Location: Lusher Charter Elementary School, 7315 Willow Street (Uptown) Project Leads: Marilyn Feldmeier, AIA, advising professor; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Ian O’Cain, Cameron Ringness and Katherine DeLacy
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Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Lusher Charter School, Community Partners (Kathleen Riedlinger, CEO; Sheila Nelson, Principal; Wellness Committee)
VACANT LAND MANAGEMENT Blighted structures and empty lots are scattered about thousands of properties in New Orleans’ neighborhoods. Jericho Road and the Tulane City Center teamed up to investigate patterns of vacancy that have emerged and design solutions that might be employed to curb the tide of abandonment. The team analyzed the social, economic, environmental, and organizational value of various programming strategies and crafted proposals that create permanent value out of a transitional use. The team then chose a vacant lot owned by Jericho Road to build a prototypical scheme. The scheme seeks to rebuild the urban tree canopy and uses a simple, modular fencing system that can be disassembled and reassembled. The prototypical site was presented at the 2012 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference. The prototypical schemes will be implemented on additional Jericho Road properties.
Location: Multiple locations in Central City Project Leads: Seth Welty, advising professor; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Evan Amato, Arthur Ostrowski, Sarah Satterlee, Dave Fruzynski Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Jericho Road Presented: Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, New Orleans 2012
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TULANE GREENBUILD 1 Greenbuild 1, designed and built by a studio of thesis students, is a prototype focused on modular construction and the prefabrication process, with an emphasis on eco-friendly building materials and methods. Working as individuals, in small groups, and as an entire studio team, students spent weeks designing affordable, eco-friendly, modular 1200 square foot homes. In the final scheme as built, the modules’ roofs were initally built flat for transport and were hinged into position on site to provide clerestory lighting. Additionally, the three modules can be reconfigured to fit different site conditions and provide varied outdoor porch spaces. The design involves green building techniques and modularity that can be adapted to different sites and neighborhoods with ease of construction at an affordable rate. The studio’s strongest emphasis was on environmentally friendly approaches to building, and how those specific conditions impact the larger environment over time. The aim of this research was to develop an appropriate climatic and cultural prototype that could be produced and developed by the prefabrication industry for New Orleans.
Location: 1939 Seventh Street (Seventh Street at Daneel Street) Project Leads: Coleman Coker, advising professor; Fritz Bader, project manager; Jonathan Tate Project Team: Tim Adams Jr., Rebecca Bortolin, Rob Cogliandro, Nick Crowley, Jason Heinze, Mike Kazanzis, Sean Kirkland, Joseph Lai, Andrea Martin, Reade Nossoman, Adam Porter, Jonathan Reyes, Daren Sadowski, Ashley Sparks, David Siegel, Maggie Van Dusen, Jared Watson, Daniel Zangara Awards: Honorable Mention, Champions of Sustainability in Community Award, Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
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Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Neighborhood Housing Services
ECO PAVILION SUSTAINABLE EXHIBITION The Tulane City Center and New Orleans City Park developed an Eco Pavilion to showcase environmentally sensitive building strategies and technologies. Under the guidance of Coleman Coker, the Tulane City Center team built the pavilion for the Fall Home and Garden Show in 2008. City Park’s Botanical Gardens use the Green Pavilion to provide the public with a full-scale educational model of how sustainable technologies can be employed. The pavilion includes a rain water-catching roof, indigenous plants, salvaged materials, and rainwater filtration systems. The intention of this approachable and informative exhibition is to make these alternative building methods accessible to the public with the hope that individuals might choose to rebuild their homes and gardens in a more sustainable way. The Eco Pavilion is one project in a larger ongoing partnership between City Park and the Tulane City Center.
Location: City Park Botanical Gardens Project Lead: Coleman Coker, Buildingstudio Project Team: Dan Etheridge, Emilie Taylor, Seth Welty, Zach Lamb, of the Tulane City Center David Dieckhoff, Tom Holloman, Jon Tate, of Buildingstudio Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, New Orleans City Park Selected Publications: Ready Made Magazine, The Times-Picayune
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LOWER 9TH WARD VISION COALITION In the summer of 2013, the Holy Cross Neighborhood Association approached the Tulane City Center to bring together various community groups in the formation of the L9 Vision Coalition (L9VC). The group was formed to create community-driven development plans for the former Holy Cross School site, one of the largest undeveloped parcels in the city and likely to have a major impact on the entire Lower Ninth Ward. Using comprehensive outreach and five public meetings in two months, the L9VC and TCC worked to create three planning schemes that represent the wishes of the whole neighborhood, bringing urban design, preservation, development financing, and landscape design expertise to ensure realistic and financially feasible plans for the community. By providing this support, TCC has enabled neighborhood leaders to promote their community vision for the site and worked with the current developer to ensure that community needs were considered. The planning process and capacity building lead by the TCC team will enable the community to confront development challenges as their community grows. This project was funded by a gift from Johnson Controls, Inc.*
Location: Historic Holy Cross Campus, Lower Ninth Ward Project Leads: Maurice Cox, Chris Calott, John Stubbs, advising professors Nick Jenisch, Jenga Mwendo, TCC leads Project Team Jose Cotto, Shuang Ding, Vincent Baudoin, student interns Elizabeth Mossop of Spackman Mossop Michaels, Stephanie McKee of Junebug Productions, consultants
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Published In: The New Orleans Advocate, The Times-Picayune website: www.facebook.com/lower9vc *For more information about the Request for Proposals process, visit: www.tulanecitycenter.org
FAÇADE RENEW Façade Renew is program launched in January 2014 to give incentives for redevelopment along three historic commercial corridors in New Orleans. The initial phase, a 3:1 matching grant program for façade improvement projects, represents a $1 million investment over two years within the following target areas: · Bayou Road between North Broad Street and Esplanade Avenue · Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard between Calliope Street and Jackson Avenue · St. Claude Avenue (2 zones) between Mandeville Street and Franklin Avenue, and between Congress Street and Poland Avenue Working in partnership with the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA), Tulane City Center will be providing technical design assistance for each of the grant applicants. Other program partners include the Main Street organizations that support each of the corridors: Broad Community Connections, the O.C. Haley Merchants and Business Association, and St. Claude Main Street. A separate component of Façade Renew focusing on placemaking will be launched at a later date.
Location: multiple corridors Project Leads: Beth Jacob, Clio Associates, LLC; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Jose Cotto, Rena Foster, Emma Jasinski, Sonya Savchenko, Edith Ware Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, New Orleans Redevelopment Authority Published In: The Times-Picayune, New Orleans City Business
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MGI CULTURAL ARTS PLAN The Mardi Gras Indian Council and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs are partnering with the Tulane City Center to create a community-driven development plan for a new and innovative cultural corridor that grows from historic New Orleans neighborhoods and the culture bearers who live there. The plan aspires to guide future IN economic development decisions to embody the rich “This tradition, it has to be taken up by theof next artistic and spiritual traditions and deeply ingrained community values thegeneration. Mardi GrasOtherwise Indians it will die with us.” CONFLICT and Social Aid and Pleasure Club organizations. The project explores strategies for equitable - Big Chief Howard Miller, Creole Wild West economic development on multiple infill sites and includes the feasibility of property and land acquisition, appropriate and respectful cultural tourism anchors, affordable housing opportunities, MASKING small business incubation, wholesale business opportunities, and public realm and infrastructure improvements. The project area stretches from Louisiana Avenue, with the LaSalle Street Corridor as its nucleus, tofirst North The thing Claiborne I thought afterAvenue, with Congo Square as its nucleus.
21ST CENTURY HISTORY
between Indian tribes and the New Orleans police came to a head in 2005 when the St. Joseph’s Night celebration was violently broken up by NOPD officers. Considerable community protest by Allison ‘Tootie’ Montana and others led to a community-wide focus on Indian-police relations.
As a result, the historic state of conflict and occasional overt violence between Mardi Gras Indians and the New Orleans police has improved since 2005. This new spirit of peace can be seen today in the improved communication between the Mardi Gras Indian Council, individual chiefs and the police.
Katrina was, “What’s going to happen to the Indians?”
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, much of the black population of New Orleans was left homeless and stranded in unfamilar places like Dallas, Houston and Atlanta. Homes destroyed, lives upended, the Indians among them were simiarly scattered with little to no knowledge of what had become of their friends and neighbors.
Despite it all, Indians focused as intently as ever on their traditions. Sewing continued unabated across the nation, and to New Orleanians across the class and race spectrums, the presence of Indians on the streets on Mardi Gras 2006 was a vital sign of the city’s continued life.
, though it maintains its vibrancy, is not an organic process. It must be taught, just as it was learned by those who practice it today. Recognizing this, the Council is looking to cement this expression in New Orleans culture and ensure its life beyond the time of its originators. Many chiefs, including Howard Miller of the Creole Wild West, host sewing classes to directly engage youth in Indian traditions and offer valuable mentorship and guidance. The Council has also focused in recent years on in-depth analysis and explanation of the forces that shaped Mardi Gras Indian tradition, hoping to spread understanding of their culture more broadly. It also promotes ways for Indians to benefit financially from their culture, such as exhibitions and performances.
The visioning- Reuben document Williams,seeks musicianto capture the authentic desires of the council and their coalition of public and private sector supporters and translate those goals into an action plan for community development with real estate analysis for multiple sites, as well as identified funding strategies for implementation.
Location: LaSalle Street Corridor Project Leads: Wendy Redfield, Marianne Desmarais, Scott Ruff, Andrew Liles, Charles Jones, advising professors; Maurice Cox, TCC lead
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Project Team: All of Tulane School of Architecture’s class of 2017 (all second year studios)
A.L. DAVIS PARK A.L. Davis Park, formerly known as Shakespeare Park, is located at the corner of Washington Avenue and LaSalle Street in Central City, New Orleans. Directly across the street from the former Magnolia/ C.J. Peete Public Housing Development, the park holds extensive historical and cultural significance within the context of the neighborhood and the city. In recent years, the park has lost value as a community amenity due to lack of funding and maintenance and an associated growth in crime. The majority of the current A.L.Davis Park is an unprogrammed open grass field. In order to support the comprehensive neighborhood development surrounding the park, infrastructure improvements allow for and invite specific recreational and civic functions. The goal is to make the park userfriendly, accessible to the surrounding community, and aesthetically pleasing in order to divert crime and violence. This comprehensive effort is being led by longtime neighborhood residents who hope to build on the park’s important history in the neighborhood. The design process has included numerous community meetings and outreach efforts, and the program incorporates many requests and suggestions made by the community in regards to activities and infrastructure for the park. This project was funded by a gift from Johnson Controls, Inc.* Location: Corner of LaSalle Street and Washington (Central City) Project Leads: Cordula Roser Gray, advising professor; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: John Nelson, Allison Powell, Guan Wang Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Harmony Oaks Neighborhood Association, New Orleans Neighborhood Development Collaborative, Urban Strategies Inc. Awards: AIA New Orleans Merit Award, Master Planning 2011 *For more information about the Request for Proposals process, visit: www.tulanecitycenter.org
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HOLLYGROVE MARKET & FARM Located in the heart of New Orleans, the Carrollton-Hollygrove neighborhood is in desperate need of extensive re-development in the post-Katrina era. One urgent issue is the development of infrastructure and resources that support a healthy food system and benefit the community through the availability of fresh foods, beautiful neighborhoods, and the promotion of a vibrant local economy. To implement some of these important incentives, the Carrollton-Hollygrove Community Development Corporation (CHCDC) and the New Orleans Food and Farm Network (FFN) partnered with the Tulane City Center to create the Hollygrove Growers Market & Farm (HGM&F), a storefront retail center in Hollygrove offering locally-grown, affordable fresh produce as well as “green jobs� certification programs in urban agriculture. The market and farm have been in operation since 2009, providing fresh local food to the New Orleans community and the Hollygrove neighborhood. Due to customer demand, the market and farm has expanded operating hours to include Sundays and has increased its reach to restaurant sales. The TCC team has been working with the HGM&F to propose expansion of its fields and greenhouses to an adjacent property owned by the US Postal Service. Location: 8301 Olive Street (Hollygrove) Project Leads: Cordula Roser Gray, Sam Richards, Emilie Taylor, advising professors; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Nels Erickson, Ian Daniels, Joseph Kimbrell, Dominic Lang, Kimberly Lewis, John Nelson, Joe Rodriguez, Jeff Schwartz, Mike Visintainer, Guan Wang, Seth Welty Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, New Orleans Food and Farm Network, CarrolltonHollygrove Community Development Corporation
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Awards: AIA New Orleans Award of Merit, Master Planning 2011 Website: http://hollygrovemarket.com
HOPE HAVEN & CAFÉ HOPE The Tulane City Center partnered with Catholic Charities to develop a programmatic strategy for the Madonna Manor building located at the Hope Haven Campus. The project integrates three community-based programs (Jefferson Parish Care Center, Café Hope and Hope Haven Farm) in one cohesive plan to revitalize and reactivate the campus. Jefferson Care Center will provide temporary shelter for homeless people and programs to reintegrate families in the community. Café Hope will be a fully operational restaurant and will run as a social entrepreneurship business model that will offer job skills for at-risk youth. Hope Haven Farm will develop a sustainable biodiversity farming model for the café and will promote initiatives to produce local products. The farm and café will act as a collaborative platform for the community to help revitalize an iconic Westbank architectural landmark. The Tulane City Center is involved in the schematic design of Café Hope and is working with all of the project’s collaborators to devise a site strategy and strategic goals for the project’s realization.
Location: 1108 Barataria Boulevard (Marrero) Project Leads: Marcella del Signore, advising professor; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Kristian Mizes, Jason Liu, Thomas J. Bogan Tulane City Center consultants: Pierre Stouse, Structural Consultant; Mike Ducote, Electrical Consultant; Chuck Sardi, Mechanical Consultant Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Catholic Charities Archdiocese New Orleans
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CITYBUILD CONSORTIUM OF SCHOOLS Through the planning and building processes, CITYbuild works for social equity by partnering directly with local community groups to address their immediate and long-term sustainable needs. The idea for CITYbuild Consortium of Schools developed in the fall of 2005 to address the unprecedented design and rebuilding needs in New Orleans. The CITYbuild Consortium was initiated in January 2006, starting with 10 schools representing the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, planning and policy, real estate development, historic preservation, and environmental studies. The role of host and first-year supporter was assumed by the Tulane City Center and the Tulane School of Architecture. By the end of the first year, CITYbuild involved 30 national and international design-based programs, representing 60 faculty and more than 600 students, while partnering with 20 local communitybased organizations. The results of these partnerships included approximately 16 structures (from urban furniture to housing) built or rehabilitated, and more than 200 design and project proposals. Project Leads: Doug Harmon, Director of CITYbuild; Jared Hueter, Sarah Gamble, Coordinators; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Participating Schools: University of Arkansas, Boston Architectural College, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Kansas, University of Kentucky, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota, University of Montana, University of Southern California, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Austin, Tulane University, Washington University, Wentworth Institute of Technology Selected Publications: Domus, Architectural Record, ID, Cite, CNN, NPR, New York Times, New Yorker
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Exhibited in: Venice Biennale, Cooper-Hewitt, Designery, Ogden Museum of Southern Art
CORNERSTONES: CANDLELIGHT LOUNGE The Candlelight Lounge is the only long-time live music venue in historic Treme, a community acclaimed for its jazz and performance culture. When Mrs. Leona Grandison, known to her friends and family as “Ms. Chine,” opened the Candlelight Lounge in 1985, there were over 30 other barrooms operating in the Treme. Many of those barrooms featured live music, and most of the musicians were from the neighborhood. Today, the Candlelight Lounge is one of only six open barrooms in Treme and the only one in the community with live music. Our research shows that Mrs. Grandison, the musicians who play at her bar, barroom “regulars,” and some of her neighbors feel a way of life and their community are threatened. TCC and the Cornerstones project published a booklet that shares the story of the Candlelight’s struggles to sustain community and live music in Treme. The story of the Candlelight also speaks to issues relevant to the rest of the city and other urban communities. As different communities deal with the tensions that arise between transition and tradition as part of gentrification or neighborhood improvement, the booklet speaks pointedly to the importance of unique spaces and places for sustaining community and culture. Cornerstones is a documentary initiative teamed with the Tulane City Center on various outreach projects throughout the city. The project both documents and promotes sites that store, facilitate, or perpetuate New Orleans’ history, culture, and sense of place. Cornerstones shares the lived experience of New Orleans local landmarks and explores how they anchor, inspire, and restore the lives of individuals and communities. Location: 1925 N. Robertson (Treme) Project Leads: Bethany Rogers, advising professor; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Cameron Ringness Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Cornerstones, Candlelight Lounge
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BACKSTREET CULTURAL MUSEUM Located in the historic Faubourg Treme neighborhood, the Backstreet Cultural Museum preserves and perpetuates New Orleans’ African American parading traditions through collections, exhibitions and publications, public programs, and performances. These cultural traditions include Mardi Gras Indians, Skull and Bone gangs, Baby Dolls, jazz funerals, social aid and pleasure clubs, and other related rituals. Housed in an altered residence and former funeral home dating from the 1930s, the museum requires significant renovation and modernization to support its growing collection and alleviate the general disrepair of its facilities. The proposed modifications realign the museum entry sequence, expand and update its main gallery, add accessible restrooms, and provide environmental improvements such as a central mechanical system, weatherization and building insulation. To assist a growing local need, the proposal also includes a community space. With the construction of this facility, general improvements will be made to the exterior of the entire building, and a new courtyard entrance will connect the street to the community space.
Location: 1116 Saint Claude Avenue (Treme) Project Leads: Jonathan Tate, advising professor; Dan Etheridge, TCC lead Project Team: Allison Popper, Kristian Mizes, Whitney Huver, Adriana Camacho Partnering Organizations: Tulane City Center, Backstreet Cultural Museum
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Published In: The Times-Picayune
CIRCLE FOOD STORE Circle Food Store, a historic locally owned grocery in New Orleans’ 7th Ward has re-opened as the community’s beloved hub and fresh food market. Over the past five years, a team of Tulane School of Architecture students and alumni have been involved in the store’s extensive comeback efforts. The store first opened in 1938 as the city’s first African American owned grocery store, but closed in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina caused significant flooding to the historic building. The Tulane City Center worked with store owner Dwayne Boudreaux and the local community on a vision for bringing the store back. Over the fall of 2009, the TCC studio team produced a pre-design booklet that the store owner used as a tool to build support, awareness, and funding for the project. The 30,000 sf Circle Food Store was an 8 million dollar project for which Mr. Boudreaux relied on architect John Williams, the McDonnel Group as General Contractor, and the Berger Company, a real estate development firm. John Williams (TSA ’78) and his associate, project architect Joel Ross (TSA ’06) performed a full set of architectural services and worked to obtain federal landmark status for the building along with a number of state and federal tax credits. The grand re-opening was celebrated in January of 2014 and featured hundreds of community members, a choir, marching band, and mayor Mitch Landrieu. Circle Food’s renovation includes the return of historic skylights, which had been covered for decades but now allow natural light to flood the store aisles, and new product additions such as Circle Food Store hot sauces and coffee. 66 local jobs have been created with the re-opening. Project Lead: Emilie Taylor, advising professor Project Team: Danielle Abelow, Ryan Anderson, Ben Flatau, Matt Fox, Jennifer Gaugler, Meghan Hartney, Whitney Huver, Garrett Jacobs, Ana Jimenez, Jason Liu, Lauren Martino, Frederica Merkel, Marian Prado, Sarah Rinehart, Karla Valdivia Partners: Tulane City Center, Circle Food Store, Seventh Ward Neighborhood Center, Tulane Freeman School of Business
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TONY LEE | MAGELLAN GARDEN COMMUNITY PARTNERSTREET PERSPECTIVES: TONY LEE, OPERATOR OF MAGELLAN STREET GARDEN TCC: How did the idea for the project begin? Tony Lee: My wife and I had talked about some things we wanted to build in a garden. We knew we wanted space to do classes; we knew we wanted an accessible and easy to maintain planning space. And, we wanted a water component. We had been talking with fellow local gardeners who wanted to teach people about produce, about food, about nutritional eating. This all came after Katrina when there were no grocery stores open for two years, especially on the Westbank, which still remains a food desert... .We wanted to push food clusters, to have everyone understand and know where to go for fresh produce. At that time, we were volunteering with New Orleans Food and Farm Network and Sanjay (Kharod) told us about the Tulane City Center grant... so, my wife and I, we sat down and wrote up a proposal and submitted it, and it was well received. And that’s when the work began. Shortly after, my wife passed away. This project seemed like fate for me because I was at an all time low. When I started working with Tulane, I was able to, you know, become stronger.
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“I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH EVERYONE, THEY HAD THESE WONDERFUL IDEAS. IT CAME AT A TIME WHEN I NEEDED TO TALK TO PEOPLE, I NEEDED TO BE AROUND PEOPLE. SO ALL THE ENTHUSIAM I WAS GETTING, AND THE IDEAS, IT WAS JUST IGNITING.”
It set me on fire, and I really became committed to making this project- which was really my wife’s idea- just take over and go. It was no 5 minute planning session. We had many meetings with me and the team, and we talked about what they wanted and what I wanted. I’m the type, I love letting people go. I tell you what my requirements are, then I get out of your way. They gave me enough ideas where I was able to select from each; really, I think I selected a little bit from each one and came up with what we have now. And then the building began. TCC: What are your plans now that everything is up and running? Right now, I’m sitting back a little and talking to people, trying to find out what they want to do, letting people know that the site is available for any type of neighborhood function. We’ve had two parties out there, a Halloween party and a birthday party. Everybody comes out, and we just take over! I’ve sold to several local restaurants and markets, and I’m looking to sell to more. One of the whole things behind me getting into this, was not to make money. I have fun doing it, but it wasn’t that. I really wanted to get involved to create a forum, a place for people to discuss nutritional food values. I feel that because my generation is the root of the problem, that our generation has to solve it. Fast food came in on our watch. I feel that fast food was never intended to replace meals, but in the community that I live in, I see that all the time. I’m going to introduce my site to the MOVE program, a program designed to help veterans walk, exercise, and participate to improve their health. I’m looking for any Westbank veterans who are interested in growing, or just hanging out. ‘Cause I tell people all the time, you don’t have to come in here to work - just come talk, hang out. That’s why I love where I’m at, because I get a lot of neighbors. I tell them all the time, “You don’t have to do anything.” But if you hang around long enough, I’m gonna tell you, “Hey! Reach and hand me that shovel!”
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Current 300s.f. community based home of the Tulane City Center
Future 7,000 s.f. community based home of the Tulane City Center
WHAT’S NEXT Tulane City Center opened our first satellite office in Spring 2012 on OC Haley Blvd in Central City. The new location provided much needed off-campus space to meet with community partners, as well as collaboration space for staff and interns. We also host events there, including pecha kucha nights where students and colleagues could learn more about our projects. In Fall 2013, Tulane City Center teamed up with developer Gulf Coast Housing Partnerships to begin construction on our new permanent facility on Baronne Street in Central City. This location will provide ample workspace for staff, fellows, and interns as we expand our team, as well as community-based studio space for courses such as the Engage.Design.Build studios. The building will also house community events and resource space and a fully outfitted shop for fabrication and staging of built projects. Most importantly, this new office helps to bring TCC geographically closer to our project sites and partners as we seek to strengthen our existing relationships and forge new relationships with community members, non profit organizations, and government agencies. In addition to the new office, TCC will soon expand our personnel by creating a series of fellowship opportunities for emerging professionals looking to be involved in the public interest design field. These year long positions will allow the fellow to gain project management experience through involvement in community-focused projects and will also benefit TCC by bringing new skills, perspectives, and person power to our team.
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CONTACT // GET INVOLVED As an outreach organization devoted to creative investigation of complex urban issues, we are committed to a wide range of relationships and are eager to facilitate connections between those with skills and support to offer and those who can make use of such help. We do not compete for work with professional architectural or design firms. Instead, we endeavor to demonstrate the value of good design in venues not often touched by standard models of professional practice and, in so doing, support the growth of the design sector in our communities. Functioning as a not-for-profit organization, the TCC maintains the complimentary goals of progressive design, applied research excellence, and advocacy for a better quality of life for all people. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you are interested in any of the work we have completed, or to discuss possible collaboration on future projects. As a grant funded center, we also welcome the opportunity to speak with any persons or organizations interested in supporting our work.
WEBSITE: www.tulanecitycenter.org EMAIL: Maurice Cox: maurice@tulane.edu Nick Jenisch: njenisch@tulane.edu Dozenia Marshall: dmarsha@tulane.edu Emilie Taylor: etaylor2@tulane.edu
Booklet Team: Kenneth Schwartz, Sarah Satterlee, Christy Crosby, Daisy Dodge, TCC Staff