Courtesy of the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The Seignouret-Brulatour House at the Historic New Orleans Collection, which was awarded The Soul Honor Award by the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
July 11, 2024 was a night of celebration for the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The organization’s 2024 Design Awards brought architects, designers, engineers, and contractors to Generations Hall to celebrate the best design work from teams across the city.
The New Orleans chapter of the AIA was founded in 1909 and since then has promoted architecture as an essential component of New Orleans culture, with a focus on sustainability and equity. While the annual awards always honor projects of exceptional innovation, “this year was very different,” said Amber Wallace Howell, the AIA New Orleans Executive Director. Eligible projects can be anywhere in the world as long as the firm is based in New Orleans, but this year 95% of the winning projects were in Louisiana. Smaller firms also received a lot of love, with nine out of the eighteen awards going to firms with fewer than ten architects on their team. In addition, this year’s awards paid particular attention to the historical architecture of New Orleans, with sixteen of them going to historical renovation and adaptive reuse constructions.
Image courtesy of the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The Seignouret-Brulatour House at the Historic New Orleans Collection, which was awarded The Soul Honor Award by the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
“That was really a big surprise and kind of heartwarming because you know, we’re an old city. It was good to see we were given some love there,” Howell said.
The Soul Honor Award, the highest honor of the night, went to the renovation of the Seignouret-Brulatour House and Tricentennial Wing gallery addition as part of the New Orleans Historical Society building, which is the first building in the French Quarter to become LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), and one of the oldest in the country awarded that certification.
Image courtesy of the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The Dew Drop Inn, designed by Studio Kiro—who took home the People’s Choice Award at the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
“It’s a beautiful adaptive reuse of a building that dates back to the 1800s,” Howell said, noting the challenge of implementing energy-saving design in a neighborhood as old as the French Quarter.
Studio Kiro took home the People’s Choice Award for its revitalization of the legendary music venue and hotel, the Dew Drop Inn. The renovation keeps alive the club’s iconic past as a music and cultural hotspot with an event space, pool hall, brunch series, and stylish rooms.
Image courtesy of the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The Dew Drop Inn, designed by Studio Kiro—who took home the People’s Choice Award at the New Orleans chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
The fact that 40% of the awards went to women-led architecture firms also made for a milestone year. “It was just a really cool, different, interesting night. It all came together really beautifully,” Howell said.
