EDITOR’S NOTE: Be on the lookout for an in-depth story that further explores and celebrates the Richardson Memorial Hall expansion in the summer Tulanian magazine. Photos by Kenny Lass

Tulane University’s architecture students, faculty and staff have much to celebrate with a new name and a new home!

This spring the Tulane University School of Architecture expanded its name to the School of Architecture and Built Environment. The new name, which reflects a decade of evolution in transformative education, research and design, coincided with the reopening of Richardson Memorial Hall on March 10, after a four-year renovation and expansion.

One of the oldest buildings on Tulane’s uptown campus and home to the architecture school since 1968, the new Richardson Memorial Hall includes 17,000 square feet of additions to the back of the building along with studios, review spaces, classrooms, a gallery, offices and meeting rooms.

“This spectacular modern version of a historic building promises to bring our acclaimed School of Architecture to the next level of design education with inspiring open spaces that foster collaboration between students and faculty,” Tulane President Michael A. Fitts said as the new building opened to students, faculty and staff. “By preserving its architectural legacy while enhancing its facilities, we are ensuring that Richardson Memorial Hall continues to provide our students with the resources they need to shape the future of the built environment.”

Fitts said the school’s new name embodies its growing reputation as a leader in interdisciplinary design education, groundbreaking research and impact beyond the foundation of architecture.

“This new designation is driven by the school’s broadening mission and scope, which play a vital role in the unprecedented success and momentum Tulane is experiencing in every aspect of university life, including academic and research excellence, record-breaking admission and the exponential physical growth of both the uptown and downtown campuses,” Fitts said. “This new identity highlights the role of our students, faculty and staff in improving the human condition by creating the future buildings, streets, landscapes, cities and regions of the world.”

Architecture and Built Environment Dean Iñaki Alday said the name fits the history and the future of the school and its students.

“Through interdisciplinary collaborations, architecture and the fields of design and the built environment will continue to increase their impact in improving how we live in and engage with the world around us,” Alday said. “After several years of brainstorming and action in this direction, we have aligned our name with the current and future reality of an evolving industry and how our school has grown to transform and better it.”

“Tulane School of Architecture and Built Environment is emerging as the place to be — the place for top students and scholars of all backgrounds to practice collective stewardship of the challenges and ideas that shape the planet we inhabit,” Alday added.

And they will be doing it all in the confines of a brand-new space, one that preserves the historic nature of the building while transforming it for the modern era.

The first floor of the new design features expanded space for the school’s Fabrication Labs, renovated faculty and staff offices 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.

Additionally, the school now has its first-ever set of review rooms and a dedicated gallery on the second floor for exhibitions to showcase both student and faculty work throughout the year. The second through fifth floors have six renovated large studio rooms and also include three newly built seminar rooms that 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.

The original home of 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 improvements over the years but nothing near the transformative magnitude of the latest project.

Alday thanked the many donors who contributed to the project. “Their generosity will enhance the top-notch education our students are already receiving,” he said. “They are extremely generous and extremely committed.”

Trapolin-Peer Architects of New Orleans led the 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.

“This project does a great job of preserving what was worth preserving, while bringing it into the 21st century,” said Byron Mouton, Lacey Senior Professor of Practice and the faculty liaison on the project. “It’s a project that lets the old and new co-exist.”