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Say what you will about suburban sprawl and an abundance of homogenous subdivisions, Ken Tipton is bullish on local trends in architecture.

“Baton Rouge has historically been a fractured place,” he says, “but there’s been a return to community thinking.”

Tipton points to several major initiatives over the last two decades, including the Baton Rouge General Medical Center’s launch of the Mid City Redevelopment Alliance, downtown’s comeback, the new embrace of mixed-use developments and the potential revitalization of Old South Baton Rouge, the neighborhood between LSU and downtown.

His firm, Tipton and Associates, designed the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium at the Louisiana Art and Science Museum, one of a handful of downtown spaces that have triggered new conversations about design in recent years.

“There is a lot of energy in the community now,” he says. “This is a place young architects are going to want to come to get in on the ground floor of change.”

The field of architecture has begun to shift in Baton Rouge. The work of residential architect A. Hays Town used to be the emblem of local design, Tipton says, but people are beginning to see beyond that. They’re starting to understand that buildings can improve how communities function, he says.

If one building symbolizes the shift, it is the Shaw Center for the Arts, the $55 million, multi-use arts facility designed by Boston-based Schwartz/Silver Architects with New Orleans–based firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple. The sleek, modern facility with channel glass skin, interactive fountains and an accessible design has been wildly popular, drawing streams of residents to its restaurants, performances and exhibits since its 2005 opening.

It’s had a major impact on the community because it represents the future rather than a return, or a redesign, of the past, says David Cronrath, dean of LSU’s College of Art and Design.

Architect Bobby Boudreaux of Crump Wilson agrees. He adds by seeing the Shaw Center and enjoying its amenities, people have begun to relate to modern architecture and innovation in a personal way.

“The Shaw Center helps architects because it allows you have a different conversation. People have a reference point, and it opens the door for more exploratory design,” he says.

The Louisiana State Museum, designed by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple, also earns high marks, particularly for its “front porch,” a good example of much-needed civic space, Cronrath says. Located near the Main Street Market and its adjacent Saturday Red Stick Farmer’s Market, the State Museum is a frequent stop for families milling about downtown on weekends.

Cronrath says the two buildings are a good start, but Baton Rouge needs more. “Cities that don’t have innovation in design and only reproduce what’s worked before fall behind the rest of the country,” he says.

Boudreaux says there’s reason to believe Baton Rouge, largely conservative when it comes to architecture, will slowly get bolder. A couple of additional developments in the field will trigger that, he says.

First, architects don’t draw in two dimensions anymore. They now use computer building information modeling, or BIM, which allows them to see spatial relationships in 3-D. Over the last five years, it’s become prevalent in this market, Boudreaux says.

“You can get a much more dynamic picture, and you can understand better how things are going to turn out,” he says. “It allows you to be more bold because you have a greater degree of confidence that the design is going to be what you want it to be.”

Second, Boudreaux says the environmental-impact issue is starting to resonate with consumers.

“It wasn’t a big deal a few years ago, but now clients are really interested in it. We’re seeing a lot of sun-shading devices and even solar panels,” he says.

Timothy Hursley

REFLECTIONS OF TIME: The Louisiana State Museum Baton Rouge’s 70,000-square-foot building was designed by New Orleans firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple and features a three-story enclosed porch with views of the State Capitol.

The LSU AgCenter has made educating consumers about green architecture a priority. Its model Louisiana House, or LaHouse, on Gourrier Drive and completed in 2006, demonstrates building systems and techniques that can be easily integrated by willing builders.

Remson-Haley-Herpin Architects of Baton Rouge designed the model home, which has become a teaching center for consumers, architects and builders. The house features resource-efficiency, durability, a convenient floor plan and elements to ensure healthy air.

Boudreaux says a consumer’s interest in sustainability can translate into small changes such as the placement of key rooms away from the sun or bigger moves such as the use of experimental design elements.

“When someone makes the leap to be environmentally friendly, it’s easy to bring them a long a little further and help them think outside the box.”