Prospect Welcome Center, New Orleans Building, Louisiana Design Project Photos, USA News
Prospect Welcome Center, New Orleans
Contemporary art in Louisiana design by EskewDumezRipple architects, USA
Jan 21, 2010
Architects: EskewDumezRipple
Prospect.1 New Orleans
Photos by Will Crocker
Prospect.1 Welcome Center New Orleans
Prospect.1 New Orleans [P.1], the largest biennial of international contemporary art ever organized in the United States, exhibited 81 artists in museums, historic buildings, and found sites throughout New Orleans from November of 2008 through January of 2009.
The Welcome Center for P.1 was housed in one of these found spaces – the historic Hefler Warehouse – and serves to orient visitors to the city and this first New Orleans biennial. For the space, we designed a 300-square foot structure – inspired by the shape and scale of shipping containers, a nod to the significance of the port to the city’s economy and a reference to the nature of delivery for much of the art exhibited for the biennial.
Due to constraints of time and budget – the entire project was designed and constructed in under 6 weeks at a total cost of $28,000 – a single construction material was selected that was both inexpensive and readily available. Utilizing construction grade plywood as floor, wall, ceiling and structural form, the internal space is manipulated to provide a hospitality desk, display counter, refreshment center and seating bench for visitors. Acting as a container within a container, the ribbed plywood exterior construction acts in dialogue with the wood structure of the historic warehouse, contrasting the architecture of old and new.
In an effort to maintain the “found” nature of the space, only light touches were made to the rest of the warehouse to accommodate the new function. Simple, utilitarian spot lights were added, an additional entry/exit point accommodated to meet fire code, and a new public entry installed in order to better secure the artwork and increase the building’s street presence at night.
We joined P.1 Curator Dan Cameron in his vision to redevelop the city as a cultural destination where the visual arts are celebrated and can once again thrive, and provided its services pro-bono for this feature of the biennial.
Prospect.1 New Orleans – Building Information
Date of Occupancy: Nov 2008
Location: Hefler Warehouse, New Orleans, Louisiana
Size: 300 sqft
Architect: EskewDumezRipple
Budget: $28,000
Contractor: Canal Construction of Louisiana, LLC
Photography: Will Crocker
Prospect.1 New Orleans – Awards
Contract Magazine Interiors Award, 2010
Interior Design Best of Year Merit Award, 2009
AIA Gulf States Honor Award, 2009
South Central Construction, Best of LA Award of Merit, 2009
Prospect Welcome Center New Orleans images / information from EskewDumezRipple
Location: Prospect Welcome Center, Hefler Warehouse, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
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