Tulane University’s downtown campus is in the midst of a historic transformation. 

And while you might not be able to “see” all the changes, what’s happening behind the walls of some of Tulane’s iconic buildings promises to pave the way for the downtown campus’ rebirth as a national research and innovation powerhouse.

The largest project to date is taking place at the Hutchinson Memorial Building, 1430 Tulane Ave., home of Tulane Medical School since 1930. The building’s seventh floor is undergoing a $35 million renovation which, when completed in 2025, will feature new and renovated research lab space, support labs, offices and conference spaces. The project will provide room for 20 additional research principal investigators, or leaders of research projects, and their teams. A smaller renovation on the fifth floor will provide space for two to three principal investigators. 

Across the street at the Tulane Medical Center building, the fourth floor of the building has received a facelift. The $6.8 million project includes labs, office areas and space for technology, equipment and other shared resources. At 8,000-square-feet, it features an open ballroom concept designed to encourage collaboration between scientists, accommodating up to five principal investigators. It also includes swing space for researchers to work temporarily while renovations in other buildings, such as Hutchinson Memorial Building across the street, are in progress.

Now for the changes that you can see. If you drive down Tulane Avenue at night, you’ll notice that the buildings on the downtown campus are up-lit in Tulane green. The lighting serves as a visual reminder of Tulane’s historic investment in revitalizing the city and uplifting the community. 

A NASA Lifelines mural is at the Saratoga Garage of Tulane Medical Center. The mural, by New Orleans artists Lee Hay and Sheri Philips, focuses on how satellites monitor coastal changes and the critical role of Louisiana’s ecosystems. A collaboration between Tulane, the Downtown Development District of the City of New Orleans and NASA Lifelines, the mural features sea life as well as ecology from coastal, lowland and upland areas of Louisiana, surrounded by NASA satellites on the outermost ring. 

Landscaping is also part of the plan for downtown, thanks to a multi-million-dollar fund established by longtime Tulane donor and former Board of Tulane Chair Carol Lavin Bernick.