Greater New Orleans Foundation

The design for the new 22,000 square foot Greater New Orleans Foundation’s headquarters has been an exercise in emulating the values of the nonprofit agency. The goal is to carefully utilize the investments of the donors to heal a scar in the heart of our community.  We needed to maximize the building’s visual impact while not overstepping its nonprofit based program. The design is enduring and classic while embodying the modern and progressive city that it will serve.   

We balanced the needs of the owner and the neighborhood by pressing the building to the public lot lines, maximizing its street presence, energizing the area, and helping to redefine Lee Circle. The parking lot and courtyard occupy the rear of the property. The building, utilizing a shallow footprint, will be filled with natural light emanating from the continuous north-facing curtain wall and generous windows throughout. The entry porch, tucked behind the colonnade on Lee Circle, creates a protected, formal, and egalitarian arrival sequence. The active public assembly spaces are prominently situated on the corner of St. Charles and the Circle. All rainwater will be stored on site and utilized for courtyard landscape features.