A Beacon of Innovation and Design

From the Favrot Lobby to the Gallery, from the Powell Classroom to Thomson Hall, Richardson Memorial Hall was abuzz with activity as a flurry of students, professors and visitors marveled at the annual showcase of student work in architecture, design, historic preservation, real estate development and social innovation.

The presentations, which were on view April 17 to May 8, were part of the Spring 2025 Final Reviews and Exhibition, a signature event — and for many, a graduation requirement — of the Tulane University School of Architecture and Built Environment.

Projects ran the gamut from a subway station redesign in New York City to a multigenerational approach whereby communities are built to be accessible and welcoming to people of all ages. There were plans for an urban hostel, a mixed-use development, a shared urban kitchen and multiple projects incorporating clean energy, flood prevention and natural cooling solutions.

What set this year’s exhibition apart from those of previous years was the reimagined setting in which the work was displayed — a thoroughly modern Richardson Memorial Hall. Though part of the same historic building, the space now boasts a completely refreshed look, thanks to a recently completed four-year renovation and expansion.

The project is part of the unprecedented momentum Tulane is experiencing in every aspect of university life, including academic and research excellence, record-breaking admissions and exponential physical growth. Highlights of the latter include The Village student residences complex, Mussafer Hall; The Malkin Sacks Commons; the Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex expansion; and Steven and Jann Paul Hall, the new home of the School of Science and Engineering.

The new Richardson Memorial Hall introduced the school’s first-ever review rooms, dedicated gallery space, new seminar rooms, a fully restored lobby and lecture hall, and much more — offering a revitalized environment that enhances both student presentations and experience.

“This beautiful space will shape all those who teach and learn under its roof for generations to come,” Tulane President Michael A. Fitts said. “And then, in turn, these Tulanians will go on to design buildings and spaces that literally shape the future of our world.”

He called the building a reflection of Tulane as a whole, a place that embodies the university’s mission to drive innovation through collaboration, interdisciplinarity and societal impact.

A much anticipated homecoming

Analiese De Saw, president of the Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment’s Graduate Student Government, used one word to describe the feeling of students, faculty and staff as they returned to Richardson Memorial the week of March 10-15 after spending the past four years in temporary buildings on the Newcomb Quad: “elation.”

“The smiles that appear around corridors and in the classrooms are unmistakable, and infectious in the most beautiful way,” said De Saw, who received her Master of Architecture degree in May. “For some undergraduates, their journeys as students began in this building, and they have been waiting years to go back. Their energy is contagious and can be seen on the faces of our professors and administrators.”

Originally constructed to house the Tulane School of Medicine, Richardson Memorial was built in 1908 in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. With its brick and limestone façade, the five-story, 45,000-square-foot structure has undergone modest improvements over the years, but nothing on the magnitude of the latest project.

The transformation includes 17,000 square feet of additions to the back of the building along with studios, review spaces, classrooms, offices and the Gallery to showcase both student and faculty work.

The first floor features expanded space for the school’s Fabrication Labs, renovated faculty and staff offices, a food vending area and a graduate student lounge. The second floor’s original spacious lobby with a grand Y-shaped staircase has been fully restored, and the school’s main lecture hall on the second floor has been updated for major events, invited speakers and large gatherings.

In addition to the review rooms and dedicated gallery space, the second through fifth floors feature six renovated large studio rooms and three newly built seminar rooms. Those rooms can also function as pin-up spaces for reviews, a critical pedagogical tool used across the school’s academic programs in architecture, design, real estate development, historic preservation, sustainable urbanism, landscape architecture and social innovation.

Robin Forman, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs, lauded the design and construction of the building, saying it accomplishes exactly what school leaders envisioned.

“We’ve kept the elegant fine details of its original construction — those irreplaceable cypress wood windows, the gorgeous limestone and brick façade, and we’ve drawn upon all the strengths of our school including design, preservation, innovation and sustainability to create a living laboratory where students can experiment, collaborate and bring their ideas to life,” Forman said.

Iñaki Alday, dean of the Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment, said the new Richardson Memorial fulfills a decades-long dream of faculty, staff and alumni. He called the building “a place for creativity and community,” where the next generation of architects, designers and innovators can collaborate and experiment in an incomparable and transformative setting.

“The renovated facility has exceptional studio spaces, where students and faculty spend dozens of hours each week working together, state-of-the-art Fabrication Labs to think with our hands, meeting spaces to collaborate, great classrooms with very refined technology and a variety of other working spaces,” Alday said.

Dedication and donor support

While the building reopened for classes on March 10, the official dedication and ribbon cutting took place a few weeks later under the giant oaks of Gibson Quad in front of Richardson Memorial Hall. Before a large crowd of faculty, staff, alumni and students, Fitts expressed gratitude to the generous donors who made spaces like the H. Mortimer Favrot Jr. Lobby, the Josephine Lobby, the Fabrication Labs, studios, classrooms, review spaces and offices possible.

“The length of the list (of donors) is a testament to the incredible community of the School of Architecture and Built Environment,” Fitts said.

The list included Henry and Pat Shane for the Shane Studio, Rick Powell for the Powell Classroom and Robert Dean Jr. and Robert A. Epstein for the Dean & Epstein Digital Fabrication Lab.

Dean, who graduated in 1968 and has been involved in the school both as a faculty member and a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board, has fond memories of the old building, having been in the first class of architecture students to occupy it.

“We pursued our fifth-year thesis studies on the north end of the fourth floor in the wonderful dormer-lit space that is still there,” he said.  “As an instructor, I loved the building. I conducted most of my lecture classes in the large hall on the main floor. The studio spaces were almost ideal for teaching design studies. There were wonderful classrooms and an incredible two-story space on the third floor that was ideal for conducting design juries. The library space was also spectacular.”

“Small renovations over the years kept the building functional for decades after I left,” he continued, “but as time went on, it was definitely time for a major renovation and additions to accommodate the expanded pedagogy and larger student body.”

Henry Shane, who graduated from the Tulane School of Architecture in 1961 and is one of Jefferson Parish’s most prominent real estate developers, said he wouldn’t be where he is today without the education he received at Tulane.

“My education at Tulane was foundational to my successful and rewarding career, and it is therefore a true honor to contribute to the renovation and expansion of Richardson Memorial Hall,” Shane said. “I can never fully express my gratitude for the education I received at Tulane and the dedication of the professors who guided me through my studies. It is my hope that my contribution to this project will help inspire and equip future architectural success stories.”

Designing with sustainability in mind

Trapolin-Peer Architects of New Orleans led the Richardson Memorial Hall project, with Broadmoor Construction serving as the builders. In the design of the building, one of the main objectives was to blend historic preservation with modern sustainability practices. The building is LEED certified at the Silver level, which means the construction has met certain standards related to energy and water efficiency, material selection, indoor environmental quality and more. LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is the world’s most widely used green building rating system.

“As someone studying sustainable real estate development, I especially appreciate the building’s LEED Silver certification, which represents Tulane’s commitment to sustainable design,” said Lawanda Jackson, who received a Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development in May. “This project represents Tulane’s investment in climate-conscious design, adaptive reuse and sustainable urbanism, all focal to our studies. It’s not just symbolic. This space allows us as students to truly live, work and learn within an environment that puts those values into practice.”

Byron Mouton, Lacey Senior Professor of Practice, faculty liaison on the project and a School of Architecture alumnus, said the renovation successfully balances historic preservation with modern updates, creating a space where the old and new can co-exist.

“It’s proof that we practice what we preach,” Mouton said. “The school is getting a great product. The project does a great job of preserving what was worth preserving, while bringing it into the 21st century.”

That was a priority for faculty and students, who through surveys offered suggestions and ideas for the renovation. In addition, faculty designers collaborated with architects on the design of specific spaces.

With the building open 24 hours a day, having late-night access to food was also high on the priority list. So, a self-serve market offering snacks, sandwiches and drinks was included. The design also features circadian-aware lighting, a design approach that mimics natural daylight cycles, as well as what architects refer to as “enhanced wayfinding” with multiple means of circulation.

Alexa Trapani, who will graduate in 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, said she is thrilled to be in the building. She and many other students began their first year at Tulane in one of the temporary spaces.

“Students are excited to be able to be a part of this milestone,” she said. “To finally be able to present projects on real walls in spaces that are meant for pin-ups and reviews is an exciting thing for students. The morale boost that the new building offers will benefit studio culture and make students want to spend more time in studio together.”

Students are also pleased to have a centralized location for fabrication. The school’s Fabrication Labs is a network of shops and labs where students and faculty can use advanced tools and machines to design, prototype and build physical models and components. The labs serve as hands-on workshops where digital design meets physical production.

“We have been sharing several of our resources with Tulane’s theater department, which we have been extremely grateful for,” Trapani said. “But it will be really beneficial for students to finally have a centralized location and easier access to all the wonderful fabrication resources that the school has to offer.”

A fitting finale

Kris Smith, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in architecture, said she is thrilled for current and future students.

“I think the building that an architecture school is housed in at any university is representative of the university’s investment in the architecture program,” she said. “Hopefully the renovation and being back in the building signals to prospective students that the Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment is reestablishing its presence on campus.”

That growth is already being felt, primarily due to the large incoming architecture classes and the addition of programs such as real estate development, landscape architecture and engineering, social innovation and sustainable urbanism. Since the renovation began, enrollment is up by more than 700 students.

“Preparing for our return, the school has multiplied its breadth and size in this brief period of enormous intensity,” Alday said at the dedication ceremony. “We left four years ago with 280 students, and we have come back with more than 1,000, including undergraduate majors and minors, and graduate students.”

De Saw was one of those students. “I am happy to end my journey as a grad student in the new building,” De Saw said. “This was one of the outcomes the students really wanted for the end of this year, and we were able to coordinate with staff to make this a reality.”

Jackson agreed: “It’s been enriching. The building itself is a living example of what we study: preservation, sustainability and design that serve both people and the planet. It’s a space that inspires, challenges and prepares us to carry those values into the real world.”